Stay Close, Don't Go
by vampirediva07
Summary: What if things happened differently? Lexie and Mark live, but what impact do they have on Jackson and April? Japril with some Slexie undertones. Canon through Flight...from there, who knows? Rated T for now, but will warn for M chapters.
1. Tough Lessons Learned

April Kepner had failed her boards. She had been at the top of her intern class and failed the American Medical Boards, which officially meant that she was not a board certified surgeon. And that was the biggest let down in her life. It was going to be hard to leave the hospital and go back to Moline to figure out what her next move was. Dr. Torres had also told her to suck it up and that worse things could happen, like losing your husband to a bus or having your child born seventeen weeks premature. April knew that she could take the boards again next year, but that was a humiliating thought because she knew that it had been her own fault that she failed in the first place.

But there was more ruminating on her mind than just failing her boards. In San Francisco, she and Jackson had slept together. She had given him her virginity and broken her promise to remain pure until she was married, but her emotions and thoughts about it were conflicting. Jackson was her best friend and admittedly, she'd had a crush on him for years, not that he would have known since she never said anything. But something just…changed that night and she found herself being bolder than ever, leading her to give him the one thing that she had kept to herself and to Jesus. Yet, despite the guilt she felt for no longer being a virgin, she wasn't angry that she had given her virginity to Jackson. Their liaisons, both in her hotel room and the men's bathroom, were meaningful to her and had changed her in profound ways.

Tonight was the annual dinner with Richard Webber to send off the residents after their residency, in celebration of their five years being complete. But it was difficult for her to compose herself while getting ready, though she wore a smile for everyone else to see. Inwardly, she was hurting in a way she'd never hurt before. Jackson told her he was going to Tulane, which was a fantastic program for plastic surgery. The downside was that it was all the way in New Orleans, meaning she would be even farther from her best friend than she'd been in the last five years.

After their little blow up, they had gone to the dinner together and had a relatively good time, but Meredith, Cristina, and the rest of the team that went to Boise were running very late. April figured the surgery had run long, but when Owen Hunt came in with a concerned and rushed look on his face, she knew something was wrong.

"Dr. Hunt?" she said, looking at him.

"The team…they never made it to Boise," he murmured to them quietly. "The plane…it's missing."

April covered her mouth. "Oh God," she gasped. "What…what about a transmitter? Don't planes have those in case something like this happens?"

Hunt nodded. "But they haven't received a signal yet, so they're sending a search party by helicopter to fly the area over where the last known transmission was. Kepner, we need to prepare for the worst. I'll need…"

"I know…I'll get everything organized and ready for standby," she interrupted, already going into her usual organized and focused trauma surgeon mode.

Cristina, Meredith, Lexie, Derek, Mark, and Arizona were all on that flight. Everyone at the table had someone they cared about on that plane and she knew that the sooner they were found, the better it would be for their outcomes if something horrible had happened. She and Jackson got up with Richard and other residents to immediately go back to the hospital for standby. As they did, she silently sent up a prayer that everyone would be alright and that they would find them in time.

* * *

Two days went by before they found the plane…two days too long for one person. April was charged with notifying the family of the pilot that their loved one was lost in the accident. But, amazingly, everyone else somehow survived and were no worse for the wear.

Derek's hand was pretty badly mangled, but Torres was working on a plan to salvage it and make sure he could someday operate again. Mark Sloan had some severe burns on his arms and chest, but Jackson was able to treat them so they would minimally scar. Cristina had a dislocated shoulder and some minor cuts and bruising, which they treated. But her psyche wasn't all that intact due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, so they had to bring in a consult from Psych to help out not only with her, but all the members on that plane. Meredith had bumps and bruises, but was otherwise intact and mostly dehydrated, exhausted, and worried sick. Arizona had a severe broken leg, which they were trying to save, but things were looking grim. And Lexie, who had the most severe of the internal injuries, had to have her spleen and part of her liver taken out and her leg reset as she had been pinned beneath a minor part of the plane, which Cristina, Mark, and Meredith lifted off of her. She was lucky though, since she had missed a bigger part falling on her by a few feet.

April had stayed on to help stabilize everyone, as had Jackson and Alex, who were set to leave for Tulane and Hopkins soon, though they had delayed for personal reasons.

"Good morning Lexie," she greeted as she came into her friend's room to check on her post-surgery.

Lexie stirred a little and opened her eyes, still a little groggy from the anesthetic she was put under with the day before for surgery. "Where…where's Mark?" she asked.

"He's getting patched up with a new dressing on his burns," she explained, coming over and checking Lexie's incision site. "But he was here all night by your bed. No one could make him leave, not even Callie."

Watching her friend smile a little, she changed the dressing of her wound. "How are you feeling today?"

"Like I got hit by a bus…" Lexie said, pausing for effect before laughing a little. "Bad joke…really bad joke. I'm sorry, April. I'm alright, just a little sore and really tired still. How is everyone else?"

"They're doing better. Cristina still isn't speaking, but Owen is with her. Derek is recovering from surgery while Meredith has Zola with her all the time. Callie bounces between checking on Mark and staying with Arizona, but her fever spiked last night…infection," she babbled on as she cleaned up Lexie's other dressings. "Mark's doing well. Jackson says that his burns will heal up just fine and leave little to no scarring. You guys…it's a miracle."

Her dark-haired friend nodded and moved up a little. "Mark…he told me he loved me. Out in the woods, when we thought we weren't going to make it."

April beamed. "Lexie, that's…that's wonderful right?" She had known a while that her friend was still in love with Mark and that he was just as much in love with her, though he was dating someone else.

"Yeah…I think we're finally…on the same page for once," Lexie laughed, looking down at her hands. "But when you love someone, like really love them, then you can't wait…because bad things happen all the time. It took me a long time to admit I still loved Mark, then a freaking plane crashes…I think this hospital is cursed."

As she finished up, she pulled up one of the rolling stools and sat by her friend's side. "I think you may be right about that. Or at the very least we all have rotten luck."

The two women had a laugh about that before April took a deep breath. "I have something to confess," she finally said, almost in a whisper. "Jackson and I…we…"

It didn't take but three seconds for Lexie to put the pieces together. "You are in love with him…aren't you?"

"Oh…I…I…maybe…we uh…we slept together at the boards," she blurted out finally.

The younger woman laughed out loud. "April Kepner, I never knew you had it in you!"

Her cheeks reddened with blush as she looked down at the chart in her hands. "There was this bar fight…" she began.

"Whoa…bar fight? What the hell happened in San Francisco?"

"This uh…jerk said some things and I uh…I punched him," she casually replied, shrugging her shoulder like it was no big deal. "Jackson pulled me off the guy and when we went back to my room…the adrenaline was going and I just…I kissed him. One thing lead to another and we had sex. I had sex, Lexie! Me…April Kepner, the freakin' Virgin Mary of Seattle Grace-Mercy West! I slept with Jackson Avery!"

"Slow down April," Lexie reminded her. "People make fun of me for rambling, but I think you'd be tied for that trophy with me."

She coughed awkwardly and smiled a little. They had come a long way since Lexie had hated her when she first arrived at Seattle Grace after the merger. Where they had once been enemies, they were now friends and April felt blessed to have that friendship.

"So…what happened after?" Lexie asked, prodding for more information.

"Well, I made him go back to his room and then I panicked. God I panicked so much because I felt this block from Jesus at my board examination the next morning," she sighed, shaking her head. "I freaked out and during the break, went into the men's restroom. Jackson found me in there and we talked about the night before and it…we had sex again."

"In the bathroom?!" Lexie seemed shocked. "Are you sure you weren't some…sexual minx in a past life?"

The blush on her cheeks deepened to an almost crimson color. "It…it was a relief that both of us needed."

"Oh I bet it was," Lexie grinned knowingly. "So…are you two…?"

April shook her head. "I have no idea….what we are. He's going to Tulane and I…I failed my boards so I'm…I have no job here once everything settles down. So I'm going home to Moline since it's the only place I know to go right now."

"Oh April," her friend said, reaching over to touch her hand sympathetically. "Can't Hunt do something to extend your contract? There are some of us that are going to be down for months."

Tears were forming in her eyes. "I don't know, Lexie. Alex is staying to cover Peds until Arizona is back, but…I don't know. Maybe it's better for me to go home anyway…start over at a new hospital somewhere where they don't know me as the crazy resident and retake my boards next year."

Lexie squeezed her hand. "Give it time…and if you really care about Jackson, don't let there be unsaid words between you. I know I used to date him, but he is a great guy. He cares and he will show it when you let him."

Her words were comforting to April in a way, but she knew that the likelihood of her and Jackson ever working out was very slim. They came from two very different worlds and she had freaked out on him about breaking her promise to Jesus, so she knew it probably pushed him away a little more. But it would take all of her strength to leave him and Seattle, knowing he was going somewhere far away where she would likely never see him again.

"I'll think about it, but for now…you rest up and get back on your feet," she told Lexie as she stood up. "Can't let the other fifth years run the show around here, now can you?"

With that, April left Lexie's room and went down to file her chart at the nurses' station, surprised to see Jackson standing there with Mark in what looked like a serious conversation.

"Kepner," Mark said, acknowledging that she was close by apparently. "Did you just check on Lexie?"

She nodded. "And changed out her dressings so everything is clean. Everything looks really good and there are no signs of infection or anything out of the ordinary, Dr. Sloan. You can go in and see her. She's awake now."

It didn't take long for Mark to move on down the hall toward Lexie's room, leaving Jackson alone with her.

"So uh…you're leaving soon, aren't you?" she asked, putting the chart on the counter.

"Yeah…I fly out on June fifteenth," he replied. "Gives me a couple weeks to settle in before July first. Sloan will be healed up by then and I'm free to…uh start my fellowship."

"That's great, Jackson," she said, looking at him, trying to hide her emotions. "I'm heading home to Moline next week…my flight leaves Sunday."

"Do you…want me to take you to the airport?" he asked, looking at her with his beautiful blue-green eyes that were capable of making her melt.

"Oh no…I…I don't want to be an imposition," she quickly replied, shaking her head as she looked at him. "I was going to just call a cab or something."

"Okay," Jackson nodded, putting away his chart. "But you'll still call?"

"Of course…you're my best friend, so why wouldn't I?" Inwardly, she was screaming at herself for feeling like this. Like her heart was being ripped out of her chest. Why would she feel like this about him so soon?

"And we still have Skype and texting," he added, making it seem like their separation wasn't going to be so bad. But he didn't know how badly she would miss him being there, to hug her when she needed it most.

"We'll still be close, promise," she told him as she gathered her next chart. "I've got to do rounds since Hunt is with Cristina. Since he fired Dr. Altman, trauma is swamped. I'll…see you around. Maybe we could get drinks or something before I go."

"Sounds good to me," he said before they parted ways, leaving April a little more brokenhearted than before.

* * *

**A/N: So...this is my first attempt at Japril fanfic! Please be patient with me as my updates will be as frequent as possible between graduate school and work. But here we go! _Review_ and let me know what you think thus far!**


	2. I Hate Goodbyes

The next few days blurred together for April as she worked her last few shifts at the hospital, packed up her belongings at the apartment, and prepared to move back to Ohio. She and Jackson had been avoiding each other more and more, but she knew a lot of it was that she didn't want to say goodbye to him. For five years, he had been her rock and now they would possibly never see one another again. They said that they would call and Skype as much as they could, but she really knew that would wane off as time passed and he met new people at Tulane. And that really hit her hard as she put the last of her charts away on her last shift.

"You're really going, Kepner?" Alex asked as he came up beside her with his own charts.

April nodded. "My contract is up and I didn't pass my boards, so I have to go."

"You coulda asked to stay. I'm sure Hunt would have extended your contract or something to let you stay on until you take your boards again next year," he went on, closing his charts as he signed off on them. "We need all the help we can get around this place."

"That airs on the side of a compliment, Alex." She looked at him with a smile.

"Well the younger residents are idiots and the new interns…bunch of fresh fish," he shrugged. "Yang is leaving soon, Meredith decided to stay, Avery's leaving, and you're going. We're losing all the competent people in this place."

"Aren't you going to Hopkins?" she asked. She recalled that he had received an offer from Hopkins to do a fellowship there with their Pediatric department.

Alex shook his head. "Not until Robbins is back on her feet and I know the department here is taken care of."

"Alex Karev does have feelings," she teased with a smirk.

"Yeah yeah, I just don't want the whole department to tank while she's not here to keep people in line," he defended quickly, masking any kind of feelings he might have about the situation. But she knew better. Alex had blossomed under the tutelage of Arizona Robbins into a kind, compassionate, and fierce doctor. Peds fit him well.

"You're going to do great things at Hopkins," she offered sincerely, looking at her roommate. "Peds has been a good thing for you. Made you a better person, almost."

She got a smile out of him before he muttered something and went off about his work, leaving April with her own charts and a smug sense of finally connecting better with Alex. Though it had taken years, she had finally figured out the complex man enough to know when he was being sincere and when he was really being an ass. She was almost sad to leave that behind when she went back to Ohio.

"Don't tell me you were going to leave without saying goodbye to me," a voice called out from behind her. Lexie Grey was coming down the hall in a wheelchair with her leg propped up.

April laughed and came over, giving her a gentle hug. "I wasn't going to. I just was putting my last charts up. How are you feeling?"

"Sore, tired, and like a gimp," Lexie laughed, nodding to her broken leg that was in a cast now. "Callie said I'll be up on crutches in about a week once my other incisions heal and then back to walking in a few weeks, hopefully."

"That's wonderful news," she beamed, feeling relieved that the worst of the storm had passed with the crash business. "I'm glad you're going to be alright."

"Me too," her friend agreed. "So…you're really leaving?"

"Yeah…I'm flying home and from there, I dunno yet." April had no plans as of yet since she didn't know what hospital would want to take a surgeon that failed their boards. Everything she had once thought would be her life was down the drain as she had no job, no future, and had given her virginity to the man that wasn't her husband. It was overwhelming to think about, so she usually pushed it away in her mind.

"They would be nuts to not take someone as talented as you at any hospital," Lexie guffawed, smiling at her. "You are the best trauma surgeon of anyone in your year. Even Hunt said so himself."

The thought that Owen Hunt had complimented her was a nice boost to her self-esteem, which was looking pretty grim these days. "Thanks, Lexie. You'll keep up with me and let me know how you're doing, right?"

The brunette in the wheelchair nodded. "Of course I will."

Having someone to talk to from here would be nice, so April knew that it would be a good thing for both of them, ultimately. Their friendship really had taken some leaps and bounds in the last few years, which she was thankful for.

"And you'll let me know when the wedding is?" she asked, nodding to the engagement ring that was now encircling Lexie's ring finger.

Lexie nodded and smiled. "Yeah, you'll be in the wedding…so yeah."

April was shocked. "Me…I'm in the wedding?"

"Yeah, you and Meredith are on my side. I didn't want a huge deal, so Mark picked Derek as his Best Man…and Jackson for a groomsman."

The thought of being in the same wedding as Jackson made April's stomach sink a little, as well as her heart. She had told him that she hated that she wasn't a virgin for the man she was going to marry, implying that she never once thought of marrying him…though that wasn't true. She'd thought about it before, secretly, but never told another soul. But it was too late now and she had ruined everything between them because of her freak out. However, she would be an adult and be in Lexie's wedding, regardless of if she had to walk with Jackson or not.

"It'll be a beautiful affair," she said, smiling. "Just let me know the details and I'll do everything I can to help out from Ohio."

"I'll need your help…since you seem to know how to organize everything," Lexie joked. "So I'll be calling a lot until I'm back at work anyway. Better to get it done early and while I'm on crutches or in this chair, right?"

She nodded and smiled. "Yeah, it'll make your life a lot easier to get it done in chunks rather than trying to overwhelm yourself. But we'll make a plan and go from there."

"Sounds good to me."

After giving Lexie one more hug, April went to the attendings locker room and changed out of her scrubs for the last time at this hospital, laying them down and putting on her regular clothes. Tomorrow she was flying out for Moline and wouldn't be back to Seattle again, at least not in the foreseeable future until Lexie's wedding. As she went to the front of the hospital, she walked out and went back to her apartment. Jackson was working late and Alex was staying the night at the hospital, so she was alone tonight. Curling up on her bed in one of Jackson's old sweatshirts she had stolen from his drawer, she thought of Jackson and how much she hated the idea of leaving him, bringing tears to her eyes. She fell asleep curled up on the bed, tears staining her pillow.

The next morning, April rose early and showered before making some coffee. Breakfast was silent as she fixed herself some oatmeal and fruit. The apartment was eerily quiet as she figured both Jackson and Alex got caught in an overnight shift. She called for her cab and loaded up her bags before locking up the apartment and leaving her key underneath the door for Jackson or Alex to find later on when they finally got home. It wasn't easy leaving, but she knew that the time had come for her to do so…to move on.

The drive to the airport was quiet as she held her phone in her lap as she sat in the back of the cab, receiving a few texts from her sisters asking when she would be home. Alice wanted to hang out with her, get coffee, and catch up while Libby and Kimmy told her to have a safe flight. But there were no messages from the one person she wanted to hear from…Jackson.

_He has other things to worry about besides you, April… _she chided herself.

When she arrived, she paid the driver and unloaded her bags before going in and checking in at the counter. Her bags were weighed and checked before she was given her ticket and sent through security. She shuffled through the metal detectors and grabbed her carry on from the bin on the other side, slipping her shoes back on. When she found her gate, she made a b-line for some coffee before sitting down and waiting for her flight to board. Her phone was silent, yet again, but it didn't surprise her.

"Ladies and gentleman, we will now be boarding our nonstop flight to Cleveland, Ohio. If you will please make your way down if you are in group one or have priority boarding," a flight attendant announced over the intercom.

April was in group three, meaning she had a little ways to wait to board, but she sat there patiently until it was her turn about ten minutes later. Grabbing her carry-on bag, she went to the line and waited, having her ticket scanned before she went down the long hall leading to the plane. She found her seat and sat down, buckling up and putting her bag below her chair as instructed. This was going to be one of the longest rides home in the history of any time she'd gone home during her residency. She was going home a failure, broken-hearted, and not knowing what her next steps were. April Kepner, who always had a plan, didn't have anything right now.

As the last of the passengers were boarding, the doors were shut and they were cleared to taxi out of the terminal to begin their journey. Unknown to April…Jackson had rushed into the airport and paid off every person he could to let him through to try and talk to her, but missed her by five minutes as the plane was making its way down the runway, leading her as far away from him as she could get.

"Damn it!" he cursed, pounding his fist against the thick glass as he watched the plane taking her away lift from the ground.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you all SO much for all the positive support so far. My updates are gonna be a bit sporatic as I'm in school, but I promise to update as soon as I can! _Review_ and let me know your thoughts!**


	3. Keep Passing Me By

Jackson had been avoiding her a lot lately. The date of her departure was looming over both of them while they avoided one another, seemingly, since she hadn't sought him out either. He had been throwing himself into surgeries and taking on a lot of Sloan's cases while he was recovering from his burns and caring for Lexie. It didn't surprise Jackson one bit that Mark ended his relationship with Julia and proposed to Lexie a few days later. He was happy for them, though, and agreed to be in the wedding as a groomsman.

While he worked, he thought about how hard it would be to say goodbye to April. She really was his best friend and the only person he had left from Mercy West. They had come over in the merger together and were the only ones now standing together after their residency had ended. Everyone else had dropped the program, moved, or died in the shooting a few years back. Charles and Reed would probably kick his ass right now if they were alive and knew he was avoiding April. But the thought of saying goodbye to her tomorrow physically made him sick.

His phone rang while he was doing some research, so he looked down and sighed.

"Hey Mom," he greeted, sitting back in his chair.

"Hi baby boy," his mother said on the other end. "How are you doing?"

"Just fine," he lied. He wasn't fine. Far from it actually as his friends were recovering from a plane crash and he was losing his best friend tomorrow when she moved back home and he left for Tulane in just a few more weeks.

"Jackson Avery, I did not raise you to lie to your mother," she sharply chided. "What's on your mind?"

Sometime he cursed her intuition. "Just worrying about the whole plane crash thing."

"Richard says that everyone is stable now and that they might be able to save Dr. Robbins' leg, if they're lucky," Catherine offered, attempting to lighten his mood a little.

"They hope so," he sighed, rubbing his temple. "It's a waiting game now with the infection signs lingering and the fact that she was out there for two days."

He ignored her mention of Dr. Webber as a means of protecting his mind from that mental image that would never leave if he thought of it ever again. It was bad enough that he had been nervous at the boards, but to know Webber had slept with his mother…it made him shudder.

"Have some faith," she encouraged. "Are you getting ready for your move to New Orleans next month?"

"Yeah, I found an apartment close to Tulane and started boxing up stuff yesterday," he replied, trying not to sound so sullen. Boxing up his belongings just sucked because he found little things of April's, like a book he borrowed and some of her hair ties that had gone missing. Reminders of her that had slipped into his life without him realizing it until now.

"That's wonderful, Jackson. Where is April going?" He cringed at that question.

"She's…going home – to Ohio." That pained him to say as it sounded so final.

"What happened? I thought she had several offers from all over." His mother seemed genuinely shocked.

"She uh…her boards didn't go well," he said with a sigh, knowing she would find out soon enough. Part of him knew that it was his fault, at least in the sense that he had jumbled up her feelings when they slept together. But sex had also calmed both of them down when they were worked up too, so he didn't know what to think.

"Oh baby…that's really unfortunate and unexpected from her. She is such a sweet girl and a great doctor too. Is she going to try again next year?"

"Yeah, I think so," he said moving his chair a bit. "It's getting late. Don't you have surgeries in the morning?"

"I do, but I just wanted to chat a bit and see how you were doing," his mother said lovingly. He could never fault her for wanting to reach out since he was all she had sometimes.

"Okay, well I will talk to you again soon. I've got to finish this research for a surgery I'm prepping for," he finally said.

"Alright, but get your rest too," she reminded him. "Love you, baby boy."

"Love you too, Ma."

After he hung up, he went back to work and drained two more cups of coffee while reading article after article on reconstructive techniques for the face. By the time he checked the clock again, it was after midnight. Saving his articles, he shuffled toward an on-call room to catch some sleep.

"Avery," a deep voice called out in the hall. He turned to see Sloan walking out of Lexie's room.

"Sloan," he replied, nodding his head.

"Lexie's asleep, so I was just going to get some coffee and food. Wanna join?"

Jackson nodded. "Sure. I could eat."

The older man laughed softly before heading down toward the floor with an open cafeteria at this time of night. Both of them got some coffee while Jackson got a sandwich.

"So Kepner is leaving today?" his mentor asked.

"Yeah – in the morning," he said, looking at his food.

"You going to see her off?" Sloan bit into his own apple.

He shook his head and looked up. "She said she was taking a cab and I have to be in at eight for a surgery."

"Excuses," Sloan huffed. "You're making excuses, Avery."

"Am not," he defended, knowing he was lying through his teeth about that. "We all have busy lives. April gets that."

"You deflowered her, didn't you?"

Jackson choked on his coffee as he took a drink, sputtering and looking at Sloan.

"I take that as a yes. No wonder you two have been weird around each other since," Mark laughed. "When did that happen?"

He straightened up. "At the boards – but it's not what you think. April…she isn't just some girl."

"You care about her," Sloan concluded. "I get it. Trust me, I do."

"She and I are friends and she's leaving for Ohio," he went on. There was nothing more to be said since it was done and things were already happening. He was leaving for Tulane in a few weeks and she had to go home to start over, in a sense, or so she said.

"Let me share with you some wisdom that I've learned the hard way," the older man said. "If you love someone, you tell them. Say it loud or else you'll wind up saying it when you think you're going to die or the one you love is going to die. Don't wait that long. Don't be that idiot."

Sloan's words resonated with him in his head as he finished his food and parted ways with him for an on-call room to get some sleep. He couldn't imagine facing the thought that he would lose someone he loved out in the woods or anywhere, for that matter. Sloan had almost lost Lexie out there and it put things into perspective for him. Jackson didn't want that to have to happen for him. April really meant the world to him and he hadn't realized it until facing her moving home and him moving to New Orleans.

But did that mean he loved her? Or was it just the fear of losing someone comforting to him?

Jackson pondered that thought literally all night long as he laid in the on-call room, not sleeping for fear of oversleeping. If he loved her, then why was he letting her leave? He knew that there were better opportunities for her and that hospitals would want her, even if she wasn't certified. In fact, he knew of a program that was down South that was looking for trauma surgeons, but April had been adamant about going home and part of it, he was afraid, had to do with them. She had given him her virginity twice over, but he didn't regret one moment of it…not with her because she was an amazing girl.

He thought back to their first day at Mercy West, back when most people just knew him as a namesake and associated him with his family instead of getting to know him. Most the other interns just wanted to know him for his name and famous family, but April…she walked right up to him and introduced herself and asked what his name was. There was no mention of him being an Avery or even of his grandfather, which was refreshing in a way for him. Fame and name dropping didn't mean anything to April then and he liked that about her.

They had been through literal hell together with the merger, the shooting, and then this with the boards, the plane crash, and moving to two separate places. But before now, he hadn't thought about how he would feel when they moved apart. Before the change in their relationship at the boards, he thought they would just stay in touch and that things wouldn't change so much, but now the idea of being physically apart from her made him ill.

By the time the sun was rising, Jackson had made up his mind and darted out of the bed. He splashed some water on his face and went to the operating room board, taking his name off of his morning surgeries. He wasn't going to let her walk away without saying how he felt.

"Dr. Avery?"

Jackson looked up to see one of the interns approaching him. He couldn't remember her name but she got along wonderfully with Karev since she threw his bullshit right back at him.

"Yeah?"

"I am supposed to be on your service today," she said, holding up the charts for the surgeries.

"I've got a situation to take care of Dr…"

"Dr. Wilson," she said.

"Dr. Wilson," he repeated. "Have Bailey reassign you to either Karev or Hunt this morning and I will probably be back this afternoon."

The intern nodded and went on her way as Jackson ran back to change out of his scrubs. He checked his watch and saw he had time…he could make it. Sprinting out of the hospital, he got in his car and started toward the airport, getting caught in traffic as he did. Beating his hand against the steering wheel, he navigated through the mess of traffic in Seattle until he got to the airport, parking his car wherever he could find a spot, worrying about the fee later as he threw his keys in his pocket and ran inside.

The ladies at the counter wouldn't let him through without a ticket of some sort, which he had to buy in order to proceed to find the woman he loved. He paid off the ladies at the counter and took the ticket before dashing through security and toward the gate, which he knew April would be at…but he got there as they closed the door and no one would let him in. He went to the window, crushed, and beat his fist against it.

"Damn it!"

There weren't enough words to describe how frustrated he was and how defeated he felt as he watched her plane take off toward Ohio. When he finally pulled himself away, he could see the attendants that were close by felt bad for him since he had explained that someone was on the flight that he needed to talk to. They had no idea how much April meant to him or even a fraction of the things they had been through together, but they felt for him.

Jackson left the airport and went back to his car, feeling like the world just wanted to kick him when he was down as he saw the parking ticket on the windshield. Angry and frustrated, he threw it in the car after crumpling it up in his hand, not giving a damn about any kind of violation. He had been trying to save something…something that was now going about a thousand miles away. He checked his phone, hoping to have some sort of message from her, but there was silence.

Opening a text message to April, he typed out _I didn't want you to leave…_ before erasing it and sighing as he threw his phone in the seat beside him. Luck and fate were not things he believed in, but today neither was on his side as he drove back to the hospital in defeat.

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**A/N: Thank you to someone who suggested I do a chapter from Jackson's POV! And thank you for all the support! _Review_ please! And this chapter is for my friend Alex, who had a birthday recently! :)  
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	4. Home Again

When April landed in Ohio, she had to wipe the tears from her eyes from crying and attempt to fix her makeup to make it look decent enough again. She had tried to hold herself together long enough and about halfway into the flight, she began to cry and buried her face in her hands to have some privacy and a little decency. Jackson hadn't even come to say goodbye to her and that hurt, a lot more than she thought it would. She didn't expect anyone else to come since they hadn't been friends with her all that long, but Jackson…he had been her best friend for five years and he hadn't even come to say goodbye or sent a text to tell her he got caught up at the hospital. But things were different between the two of them now and she knew that the sex at the boards had changed everything.

As she got off the plane, she knew that her sister Libby and her husband Mike were going to be waiting for her, so she made herself presentable and got her bag from the claim before she found her older sister flagging her down. Putting on a brave face and a smile, she came over and hugged her older sister and then her brother-in-law. Libby's belly was pretty round with her second baby, which was a little girl this time around.

"It's good to finally see you for the first time in forever," Libby said, smiling. "When was the last time you were home?"

"Um…Thanksgiving, I think," April replied, laughing nervously since she knew it had been a while due to work and preparing for her boards. Her whole family knew it hadn't gone well for her, so the subject was kind of off-limits right now.

"Well I certainly wasn't pregnant the last time," her sister joked, rubbing her stomach before heading off to the car, Mike carrying April's bigger bag.

When they were in the car, they were on their way back to the farm house in Moline, which was roughly a two hour drive from the airport. April held onto her phone and listened to the chatter up front from her sister and brother-in-law about name ideas for the new baby and about how their oldest, Asher, was handling gaining a new little sister in the coming months. He was three, but even then it was hard to explain that concept to a three-year-old. While they talked, April's mind drifted back to Seattle. To Jackson and all the things that were left unsaid between the two of them after the boards and after their discussion in the locker room before Webber's dinner.

"April?" Her sister's voice brought her back to the present as she snapped her attention to Libby. "You okay?"

She nodded and smiled faintly. "Yeah, just tired," she replied. She'd said that to Jackson after they had sex the first time and he asked her if she was alright.

"You can sleep if you need to, we'll wake you when we get there," her sister promised.

April was thankful for small miracles like her sister letting her be alone in her own mind for now. She needed to curl up and to just fall asleep right now…forget the troubles on her mind even just for an hour or two. Sliding into Jackson's old hoodie, she curled up on the seat and rested her head against the window with her pillow between her face and the glass. She hadn't even realized she had the hoodie until she got on the plane and found it among her things, but right now she was glad to since it smelt like him…the clean body wash he used and the aftershave he put on. A reminder of him and the small things she remembered about him, like that he enjoyed kissing slow and passionately and that he hated cold coffee. April fell asleep wishing that she had let him stay that first night in the hotel in San Francisco, regretting the little things like that.

When she woke, they were pulling up to the farm house where she had been raised. A simple home with white trim and a red roof, which always made her laugh because she and her sisters were all red-heads, just like their mother. It reminded her that when she was about five or six-years-old, she used to believe their hair came from the fact that they had a red roof and how Libby told her she was stupid. Now it was a comforting sight for her tired and weary eyes. This was home and it was the place she could come, no matter how much of a failure she felt like, and still find love from her family.

"April!" her mother gushed as she came out of the house as the car pulled up, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Hi Mom," she said, smiling and embracing her mother tightly before moving to hug her dad, who was close behind. "Hi Dad."

Telling her parents that she had failed the boards had been tough, but they were accepting and told her that there was always another chance to thrive. Her father had even gone so far to tell her that the rarest and most beautiful of things bloomed in adversity and to not give up, reminding her why she loved her parents so much. They were still supportive and extremely proud of having a doctor in the family. When she had decided to pursue that path in college, they had been so delighted that everyone in Moline knew that she was going to be a doctor once her MCATs were done and she had been accepted to medical school at a state school in Ohio.

After going in the house and getting settled in her old room again, April decided to lay down for a while to rest after the long day of traveling. She had once shared this room with Libby before her older sister had moved out for college and then got married. Now it was her own space and she had photos of their family on the walls, along with her awards from high school. Looking around, she fell asleep and didn't wake for a while, only to eat a small dinner and go back to sleep out of sheer exhaustion and emotion.

A knock came at the door the next morning, causing April to sit up.

"Come in," she said, not knowing who was on the other side of the door.

Her youngest sister, Alice, came through the door and smiled. "Hey…Mom said you just got in yesterday," she said, coming over and hugging her. "I was down the road at a friend's for the night."

"Mom said you were still on summer break from school," she said, offering her youngest sister a smile. "How's school?"

Alice was only twenty-one, but was about to go into her senior year of school and April was incredibly proud of her baby sister.

"It's good…just another year and I'll have my Bachelor's…but I was thinking about something," Alice said hesitantly. "I uh…I signed up to take the MCATs in the fall."

Surprised, April beamed and hugged her sister. "You are?"

"Yeah…I want to be a doctor, like you," Alice went on, looking down at her hands. "I haven't told Mom and Dad yet, since I don't wanna set myself up. I've never been as smart as you in science, but I want to help others."

"You know, that's the most important thing about being a doctor," she said, reminding herself about why she had gotten into medicine in the first place. To help others. "And if you want some help getting ready for it, I'll help you."

The joy on her younger sister's face was almost worth coming home from Seattle, even despite the circumstances she had come home in. April knew that she needed to make a plan for herself and possibly talk to some of the hospitals that were relatively close by to see if they were looking for a trauma surgeon. Hopefully Alex would be right and there would still be hospitals that would want her though she wasn't board certified.

"So…you wanna talk about it?" Alice asked cautiously.

April shrugged. "What's there to talk about? I mean…I failed the boards and I lost my job, but life goes on right?"

The younger Kepner nodded and hugged her from the side, resting her head on April's shoulder. "Who's the guy?"

April's eyes widened as she looked down at her younger sister. "Wh-what?"

Alice almost laughed, nodding to her hoodie. "That smells like men's aftershave and the school…definitely not yours. So…who's the guy?"

The blush on April's face deepened as she knew that she couldn't exactly tell Alice the truth about what had happened between her and Jackson. Or that she was no longer a virgin since all the Kepner girls had been raised to save themselves for marriage. It felt almost wrong to even mention Jackson at all now that she was home since she had given him her virginity, but he was also her best friend and someone she had talked about before when she had come home for holidays and extended trips during her residency. Just like she had talked about Reed and Charles before they had passed away.

"It's Jackson's," she replied, trying hard not to let anymore of the heat from her cheeks show than possible. "I uh...it accidentally got mixed in with my stuff and I got cold on the ride home from the airport."

"Uh huh," Alice said, seemingly unconvinced that was entirely the truth. "You've mentioned him before, right?"

"Yeah, he's one of my friends…from Mercy West," she said.

"Oh…oh! Mr. Pretty Eyes!" The nickname her youngest sister had given Jackson was slightly ridiculous, but April couldn't argue that since Jackson's eyes were gorgeous and something that had drawn her in right from the beginning.

"Yeah. I'll probably mail it back or something when I get the chance, but I'll have to wait until I find out his new address in New Orleans," she said, brushing it off like it was nothing. In reality, she knew she probably wouldn't have the heart to send it back because it was her only link to him now; a comfortable, worn, and cozy sweatshirt that she felt safe in.

"So…how good was the sex?" Alice bluntly asked after a moment, not missing a beat.

"Alice! That is…that's a completely…totally inappropriate question," she stammered. "And how would you know anything when we haven't talked in weeks?"

"Because that…right there, the stammering and blushing like there's no tomorrow, is a dead giveaway," Alice retorted with a laugh. "So come on. Dish!"

Sitting on her bed with her legs crossed, April felt the blazing heat on her cheeks and knew how red she probably was right about now. She had never been good at lying, even when she was younger, while her sisters Kimmie and Alice had perfected it to an art. Of all her sisters, April had been the only one left that was a virgin. Libby and Kimmie were both married and Alice had taken a more lax attitude toward sex, focusing on how she felt in a relationship and if it was important enough to give herself to the guy. April had counseled her many times on birth control when she was too afraid to talk to their mother about it because she feared what kind of judgmental looks she would get. But now, the tables were turned almost.

"Jackson…he…" she said, trying to find the right words. "He is my first and my only…but he's my best friend and it happened while we were in San Francisco at the boards."

"And…you still came home?" Alice inquired.

"It's complicated. He…he has a fellowship at Tulane, which is in New Orleans, and I failed, so there…it wouldn't have ever worked anyway," she sighed, trying to hold in her tears.

"April you know that they say that falling in love with your best friend is one of the best things that can happen to you, right?"

April nodded sadly. "But it isn't always right. People aren't always right for each other and I think that is the problem with Jackson and I. I felt…_wrong_ after I slept with him, like God was going to hate me for doing that without being married."

"Do you think God hates me for having sex outside marriage?" her sister asked pointedly.

"No, no of course not!" she quickly replied. "You're good and kind and have always put others first."

"Then why on earth would He hate you when you're a doctor that saves lives and fell for someone He put in your life?"

The words kind of hit April square in the chest and made her think. Maybe she had been too hard on herself about the whole thing…maybe it was meant to happen that way to make her reevaluate her faith and see something else more important than just living by some code of beliefs she had set up for herself, but rather living in the moment and letting things come as they may. April hadn't thought of it that way before now. Before Jackson, she had been saving herself for some ideal man in her head that was made up from the time she was a little girl, yet Jackson had been there all along for five years without her really seeing it. He protected her when she needed him to, even going so far as to punch Alex, and made her smile when she needed it most on a bad day. Jackson Avery had quietly and surreptitiously stolen her heart.

But the worst part was that she had realized it too late and now she was hundreds of miles away and he was moving to New Orleans. And that made her tear up as she held her sister's hand.

"Maybe it was meant to be something…but now it's too late," she tearfully admitted. "He's moving on and going to his fellowship at Tulane."

"If there's one thing I know about life it's that it changes with the winds," Alice mused, smiling. "Life is what you make it, not what it makes you."

"When did you become so wise?" she asked, smiling through her tears at her younger sister.

"I had three older sisters…and a lot of free time once you guys moved out, so I read things," Alice laughed, shaking her head. "And I pay attention a lot more than people think."

April hugged her sister again and was thankful for the introspection on her life through her sister's eyes. She'd needed that and knew she had a lot to think on in the coming days as she looked to her future and what she wanted. Her faith would say that each hurdle was a test, but maybe this wasn't so much a test as a path that she was meant to walk alone for a while, helping her to grow up as a woman and to show her what she truly wanted. And if that was the case, then she hoped she wasn't too late when the time came to find a way back to where she wanted to be and who she wanted to be with.

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**A/N: Thank you again for all the support and reviews! They really mean a whole lot to me...now comes the fun part, getting Japril in the same place again. ;) _Review_ and I shall update soon!**


	5. Sisterly Love

In the few weeks that followed April's return home to Moline, she settled into a comfortable routine of getting up early with her father to go help feed the pigs before changing out some of the hay for the horses. It was something she was used to and she found comfort in as she continued her search for a hospital that would take her on as an attending without her board certification. That was a hard battle and a losing one at that, though there was one hospital in Columbus that was taking interest, but had yet to get back to her yet since they were going through a new staffing phase. So the hard work of the farm was distracting for her and her parents were thankful for the extra hands during the summer months.

When July rolled around, she knew that Jackson had moved to Tulane. They hadn't spoken since just before she left, so she didn't expect any kind of phone call or text from him on his moving day or the days that followed, figuring he was in a new life and a new place, so things of the past had to be let go. And she accepted it, however much it hurt to do so.

Near the end of the month, all of her sisters, their husbands, and children came in for a visit and to have a family barbeque. Normally April looked forward to the gatherings with her family, but this time around, it was much harder as she had no job, had failed the biggest test of her career, and had lost a guy she really had begun to fall in love with. But she was a soldier, so she hid her pain and had fun with her nieces and nephews for a while.

When she and her sisters were left to the clean-up while the guys went out to entertain the kids and her mother was with the littlest Kepner addition, April began to load the dishwasher.

"So April…you wanna tell us about the really hot doctor or do we have to ask Alice about it?" Kimmie smirked as she came up to her with a set of plates.

"Whoa…what are you even talking about?" she asked, glancing at her younger sister.

"Libby told me that you were wearing another sweatshirt home that wasn't from your college…it was Harvard," Kimmie said, winking. "So…who is he and why didn't you tell us you had a boyfriend?"

"I…I don't have a boyfriend," she said, shooting Alice a look. Her baby sister held her hands up defensively, like she had nothing to do with this conversation happening right now. "I don't have a boyfriend."

Kimmie snorted. "I don't believe that for one minute the way you're blushing right now."

Sometimes April really cursed that she didn't have the ability to hide anything with her blushing. It was an automatic reflex for her at this point and she knew that her sisters would use that against her, just as they always had done when she was growing up. And since she had brought home Jackson's hoodie, she knew that they would make a point to tease her about it since she'd never brought home any boys' clothing before now.

"He isn't my boyfriend…he's just my best friend and I happened to get his shirt mixed up in my stuff when I was packing up my apartment," she said, trying to shrug it off though Alice knew she and Jackson had already had sex.

But apparently her sisters weren't going to bite on that as Libby arched her eyebrow and Kimmie scoffed. "April, we know you better than just about anyone…you didn't just bring home some random hoodie," Libby said, shaking her head. "Come on, spill it sister."

Right now, April cursed having three sisters that were intuitive and probably nosier than anyone she'd ever met in her whole life, including half the hospital staff at Seattle Grace-Mercy West. At least at the hospital, you knew to expect gossip and people to want to know your business…but with family, you never knew who was going to go digging in your personal life at any point. Or what kinds of things they would drag out of your deep, dark, and scary closet of skeletons.

"Jackson is my best friend," she repeated, emphasizing the fact that he was her friend. "We lived in the same apartment with someone else we worked with and I guess it just got swept up in my stuff and I figured I would just wear it since I was cold. No big deal."

It was a much bigger deal than she'd like to admit, realistically. Being in Jackson's hoodie made her feel safe and secure, like he was there holding her. Though she had thrown him out of her bed the first night, she wished she had let him stay and hold her. Maybe that would have helped calm her nerves the next day…or something. Instead, she was left wondering what it would have been like to just be held by the guy she cared the most about.

"You're lying, I can see your wisdom teeth" Kimmie shot back, cornering her in the kitchen before making her sit down at the table. "We're all adults here, April. No one is gonna judge you in this room, trust me."

"What…that makes no sense. You can't tell if someone is lying by their wisdom teeth," she scoffed, shaking her head at the ridiculousness of that comment.

"Avoiding the topic isn't going to steer us away, April," Libby pointed out as she sat down next to her. Alice sat on the other side and nodded in agreement since there was no way out of this without the truth.

"Fine," she sighed, seeing no other way out but to spill the beans and hope that her sisters didn't think less of her for breaking her promises. "I can't believe I'm having this conversation with my sisters, but fine…yes, Jackson and I had sex. Twice. But everything is all messed up, I failed the boards, he's moving to New Orleans, and I'm here…so that's the end of it. Happy now?"

"April Marie Kepner," Libby scolded. "You…you let him walk away and you ran away here?"

"I did not run away!" she defended fiercely, shaking her head. "I lost my job and there was nowhere else for me to go right now…no one wants an uncertified surgeon in their hospital."

"But what about Jackson?" Kimmie asked, arching her eyebrow. "Do you even still talk to him or did he go in a little box somewhere that got filed away in April-land?"

April made a face. "What the hell does that mean?"

"You do that all the time, sis. When someone gets close to you, it's like you just panic and push them away in whatever way you can. I love you dearly, Apes, but you know it's true," Kimmie replied.

"Well that is…blunt," she said, half-laughing as she looked at her sisters, who were all staring at her. "Jackson is…he is…or was my best friend. And when we had sex, something changed and…I freaked out, okay. I freaked out because I wasn't a virgin anymore and I wasn't saving myself for the man I was going to marry and I guess…well it pushed him away and it's all my fault. I'm just this little neurotic freak that no one likes and I guess he finally saw it after five years."

"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Libby scoffed. "You're amazing, April. And I know that you get a little weird sometimes, but that is what makes you who you are, which is the sister I love. And if this Jackson guy was your best friend for five years, then he saw what we see."

Her sister's words were a little comforting as she ran her hand through her hair and thought about her five years of friendship with Jackson. About how they met at Mercy West when they were interns on their first overnight shift and about when they moved to Seattle Grace, how they were the outsiders that stuck together. Jackson was the only friend she had left after Charles and Reed died, but he always stuck up for her and took up for her when things got tough, like when the truth about her virginity came out. During all that time, she had always had this little crush on him, but didn't pursue it because he was completely and impossibly gorgeous while she was just…April.

"You guys…don't know what he's like," she sighed, pulling out her phone to bring up a picture of her and Jackson. "He is perfect and has an amazing personality to match."

"Oh my God," Libby gushed, looking at the picture. "April, how the hell did you not jump this man's bones for five years?!"

April looked at her sister and arched her brow. "I have a lot of self-control. And you and Kimmie waited until you were married to have sex, so it's not like it was any different…except I didn't marry Jackson, but that's beside the point."

Kimmie snorted and looked down. "Yeah…about that," she said, looking back up at April. "Jonathan and I had sex a week before we got married. I was anxious, stressed, and we just…went at it one night when we were at his place."

"Oh my God," April gasped, staring at her sister in awe.

"About that confession…I have one too," Libby spoke up sheepishly. "Mike and I had sex about a month before we got married. We knew we were going to get married, so we just…decided it was time and did it. No pressure of a wedding night and gave us some time to practice before the honeymoon."

April could not believe what she was hearing from her sisters. None of the Kepner women in this generation had any self-control, apparently, when it came to having sex with someone you really cared about. And that reality was something that hit her square in the chest because she had felt so guilty about breaking her promise when two of her sisters had kept their virginity until marriage, but finding out that they had given away their v-cards before marriage really impacted her.

"Well apparently the Kepner women of this generation are all weak," she laughed, shaking her head and blushing profusely. "But…you guys were deeply in love and already engaged when you slept with Jon and Mike. Even Alice was in a committed relationship her first time. I…Jackson isn't even my boyfriend."

"But do you want him to be?" Alice asked, finally speaking up for the first time. "You keep saying that he's your best friend, but do you want him to be more than just your best friend?"

"I…I don't know what I want, but it doesn't matter anymore, now does it?" April asked in reply, exasperated that she was going round and round in circles about this matter, not only in her head but in this conversation with her sisters. "He moved to Tulane in New Orleans and hasn't talked to me since I came home…he didn't even say goodbye to me at the airport."

Tears were welling up in her eyes as she turned away to wipe them from her eyes so her sisters couldn't see. But they already knew as Alice came and hugged her tightly while Kimmie brought her a Kleenex tissue. Growing up, her sisters might have teased her, but they loved her dearly and would defend her against anyone that wasn't in their family teasing her.

"Maybe there is a rhyme and reason for all of this," Libby offered. "No one knows what's supposed to happen or why it happens, so maybe there's something to it that we don't see."

"What reason is there for Jackson to be put into my life…for me to…to fall in love with him and then…to be taken apart?" she asked, looking at the three sets of eyes facing her, tears blurring her vision.

"Who knows, but maybe it's meant to teach you to go after the things you want," Alice suggested. "You have always been afraid to go after what you want, especially when it comes to your personal life."

As much as that stung, April knew her sister was right. She had always been under confident about herself and about her abilities, not only as a surgeon, but in her personal life too. Once she had even carried around a book to keep herself going that had inspirational quotes and a lot of good things about herself, which Lexie stole and was going to use against her before she changed her mind. But she had grown more confident, given time and Jackson's close friendship, but even now…she was scared to go for the things she wanted because she had failed.

"You're right…but it doesn't change the fact that even if I were to go back to Seattle, Jackson wouldn't be there," she said, sighing.

"Then maybe it's time to book a flight to New Orleans," Libby said, hugging her before giving her a smile.

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**A/N: Hey guys...thank you so much again for all the positive feedback! Sorry for the delays, but I'm an intern and a student, so I do what I can when I can. _Review_ please and let me know your thoughts!**


	6. Come Back, Be Here

Three months had passed since April moved back to her family's farm in Ohio. In those months, April had worked hard for her parents while pursuing some options for working in a close by hospital as a trauma surgeon. But things had not come through for her yet as she hoped and she was growing anxious about everything. However, she kept soldiering on and worked hard on everything she did, much like she always had from the time she was little.

She rose early, as usual, and went out to handle some of the animals. Her chores when she was young usually dealt with the animals since Alice was scared of birds and Libby just didn't like the smell. It was just after dawn as she fed the pigs and chickens before moving on to the horses. One of her favorite things to do on the farm was tend to the horses, especially those she and her sisters had raised from the time they were born on the farm. As she was brushing one of her favorites, a mare she had rode all through high school, she looked up to see a familiar face.

"Dr. Hunt…what are you doing here…on my family's farm?" she asked in surprise.

"Kepner," he said as he approached her. "I want you to come back to Seattle."

"Sir…I'm…why? I failed my boards and my contract was up." April was confused and unsure of what was happening exacly.

"Yes you may have, but I was your teacher and I was distracted when I should have done better in preparing you for the boards," he replied. "This time I want to do right by you and make sure you're prepared and pass the oral boards."

She was touched by Dr. Hunt's sentiments as he wanted to help her retake her boards next year. It would be a long road, but she was willing to work hard and do this right this time. No distractions and no drama to keep her busy.

"And you want me to come work at Seattle Grace-Mercy West again?" she asked to clarify to make sure that she wasn't crazy.

Her mentor nodded. "Yes, as an attending trauma surgeon. We need someone experienced and are trying to maintain our level one trauma center rating."

April smiled widely. "Okay, I'll do it."

Good – we need good soldiers in trauma," he smiled. "I'll arrange for your flight back in a few days and I'm sure Karev can let you stay at the frat house for a few days while you look for a new place."

"Alex stayed?" she asked, wondering about her friend since he was supposed to be going to Hopkins. Even if Karev was an ass most of the time, he had a way with kids she couldn't deny he had.

The Chief nodded. "Robbins is still in intensive physical therapy and isn't expected to be back in any capacity until December at the earliest."

"Alright…I can be back within a week," she said, seeing that she was needed and that this would be a great opportunity for her to do over what she screwed up last year.

"Sounds good. I'll see you in a week, Kepner."

The next few days were a blur as April packed up her belongings again and sent them back to Seattle. She flew out to join her things by the weekend, coming off the plane to see a familiar face she didn't expect to see, especially in an airport given what happened three months ago.

"Lexie!" she cried, coming over and hugging her friend. She and Lexie had become much closer in the last few months since she left for Ohio and they had kept in touch via texting or Skype. "I thought Hunt was picking me up."

"There was an emergency situation that he had to tend to at the hospital, so here I am," Lexie replied with a smile. "How was your flight?"

"Boring, but I'm thankful for that actually," she replied, going toward baggage claim. "I think all of us are kind of leery about getting on planes these days."

Lexie nodded and shook off a shiver up her spine. "I won't get on one…Mark either," she explained. "They're launching a full-scale investigation about the plane incident…what caused it and who we can pin the blame on. I just want to move on, but Mark, Derek, Callie, and a few others really want to push it."

"I don't blame them…you guys…we almost lost you," she said, looking at Lexie. "Speaking of those things, how are you doing?"

"Better…my leg isn't sore anymore and I can walk without any pain or problems, so it's been full-scale back to work for me and prepping for my boards in the Spring while planning a wedding." Lexie smiled and picked up one of April's bags as it came around.

"Speaking of weddings, did you guys set the date yet?" she asked, grabbing her other bag as it came off the little conveyer belt.

"We did…we're getting married on January fifteenth," her friend replied, grinning. "It gives me time to settle into marriage before the boards and we can have a winter wedding, which is what we're wanting."

"That's great! Now we can talk about dresses and table settings and flowers…I'm so excited!" April loved weddings and seemed to always cry at each one she was either in or invited to, which probably was just because she was a hopeless romantic that wanted all of that for herself someday. Her mind seemed to drift to Jackson while thinking about that, but pushed out those thoughts. Right now, she needed to focus on her friend and her wedding rather than daydream about the one she would never have with a man that was several hundred miles away and hadn't spoken to her in three months.

"I'll definitely need your help a lot…you know Meredith isn't all that good with planning stuff like this, so you're my go-to girl for all of this," Lexie said genuinely as they made their way out to the car.

April felt honored to be that person for Lexie, especially given their rocky relationship to start with after she moved over from Mercy West. "Any ideas for colors?" she asked, loading her bag in Lexie's car.

"I was thinking a deep red, black, and cream…that isn't too cliché is it?" Lexie got in the front seat of the car and buckled up as April joined her.

"Not at all," she said with a smile. "There's a lot you can do with those colors that would be beautiful for a winter wedding. Plus, you can also do chandeliers that would look like…ice, since it's winter."

"Did you ever consider wedding planning as a back-up career to surgery?" Lexie asked as they made their way from the airport garage.

April laughed and blushed, looking down at her lap. "Maybe once or twice…but then the sciences really took my interest in high school and yeah…here I am."

Lexie laughed and made her way toward the frat house once they were away from the airport, missing most of the early morning traffic since it was now after ten in the morning. Seattle was like home to April in so many ways since she had spent the last five years of her life living here, so seeing the familiar skyline was like coming back after a long vacation. She could see the Space Needle and the bay where there were ships going in and out, so it felt so much like home. Even more so than her family farm in Ohio where she had grown up.

"How have things been at the hospital?" she asked, changing the topic a little bit to something new. "Dr. Hunt said that they needed some extra help, which is why he brought me back."

"Things have been…rocky in the last few months," Lexie replied honestly as she drove. "The investigation that was launched is pointing to a fault with the hospital…something about budget cuts causing them to hire a charter service and plane that had known mechanical issues. It's what we know so far, but Dr. Hunt is really getting put through the wringer about it."

She was shocked and slightly appalled that all the blame was being laid on Owen Hunt since she knew he was a good and honorable man. "How…how can they do that when it wasn't his fault really?"

"They have to have someone to blame and crucify in these situations…but it's really bad, April…they say if we win this suit…the hospital will be the one to pay the money," Lexie went on, looking over at her. "And while I want someone to own up to being wrong for what happened to us and what could have happened…the blame doesn't all land on the hospital. The plane company is at fault too. I've looked at their statistics. In the last year, they had four incidents with similar planes that were reported and nothing was done about them…four. That's unheard of for small charter companies."

On one hand, April felt awful stepping into this situation knowing that the hospital might very well go under if this suit took out the financial backing of the hospital, but at the same time she needed Seattle Grace-Mercy West right now and apparently, it needed her if Hunt brought her all the way out from Moline back to here to help out as a trauma surgeon while he was dealing with the board and the fallout from the plane crash. When she and Jackson had first come over from Mercy West, they were the outsiders that no one liked, but they were accepted to the family after the shooting happened. And now she was back here again, to help where she was needed.

"Maybe it'll all work out for the best…so that everyone is happy," she suggested, hoping that she was right in the end.

Lexie sighed as she drove. "I hope so too…I just am done with this. I am getting married and moving on. Everyone else is moving on and we're trying to get past this thing, but they're dragging everything on for months now. I get that investigations take time, but my patience isn't holding on by much."

"I understand," she said.

They made their way through Seattle and found themselves at the frat house again, for what felt like the millionth time in April's mind. But this was home to her and she knew that now that Alex owned it, there would be a lot of compromising to do, including limiting the amount of interns he brought home to sleep with and that he would actually do some cleaning of his own rather than letting her do it all herself. She may have been a pushover before, but she was a stronger version of herself now that she had failed her boards and been forced to be strong and find her backbone.

"So Alex is really living in the frat house himself?" she asked as they pulled up and saw Alex wasn't there.

"Yeah, he bought it from Meredith when they moved into the dream house about a month after the plane crash," Lexie replied, helping her get her bags out of the trunk when they were parked. "He's being a responsible adult for the first time in his life."

Laughing, April carried some of her stuff up to the door and unlocked it before going inside. "He said that I could have the old bedroom downstairs since he took the master bedroom," she explained as she moved her things in that direction. "I'm just glad I'm not on the same floor as him if he's going to be bringing all the little interns home…" She shuddered as she opened the door.

Lexie wasn't far behind her as she was laughing. "The movers got here with your stuff yesterday, so everything is all here that you didn't bring with you on the flight."

April nodded and stepped in the room, feeling like she was finally home again. Her bags were tossed to the side as she and Lexie sat on the bed to chat a little more. And she knew the one topic she wanted to avoid was already coming up.

"Have you talked to Jackson since you left?" Lexie asked.

That was the million dollar question in April's mind…and Lexie nailed it right on the head on her first day back. Though it didn't surprise her since Lexie was far more intuitive than anyone else and had been the person April told after she had slept with Jackson, so she would be the first to ask her if she had talked to him.

She shook her head. "No…not since I left for home. Not one phone call or text. I guess Tulane just gave him everything he wanted…"

The words felt like a punch in her gut as she thought about how much she missed him and cared about him. More than she had ever cared about anyone else in her life. April Kepner had fallen in love with her best friend and didn't realize it until it was too late.

"He talks to Mark on a weekly basis almost…they share cases and compare notes on similar ones," Lexie said with a little shrug. "The most I hear is that he likes New Orleans and that the food is pretty good, but nothing like Seattle's."

Both of the women laughed for a moment before she looked at Lexie. "I really messed up where Jackson is concerned. And it took me going home to realize that…that breaking my promise to Jesus wasn't the problem…the guilt was my problem. And that life isn't as black and white as I paint it sometimes. Does that make any sense?" She scrunched her nose.

"It makes sense…perfect sense. Because I know where you're at and I've been there…maybe not with the whole virginity guilt thing, but with pushing away someone I care about. Mark and I were the poster children for that, remember?"

Everyone knew that Mark and Lexie belonged together, but took their sweet time in getting back together because of their issues. April had once told her that Mark stared at her because he loved her…which was so true because he looked at her and only her. Back then, April would have killed to have someone look at her like that and then Jackson happened. The sweet, kind, and caring best friend that protected her when she needed it and the boy Bailey had once told her about…the one she wanted to superglue herself to.

"I know…but maybe some people were only meant to be together for a short period of time…maybe Jackson and I…weren't meant to be you and Mark," she sighed.

"No, you were meant to be you and Jackson," Lexie corrected. "Everything happens for a reason…you'll see."

* * *

**A/N: Thank you all for being so patient with me...in honor of the premiere tonight, I decided to post a new chapter! Let me know what you think!**


	7. Looking For You Again

The next three days were busy as April got settled into the hospital as an attending trauma surgeon. She was given interns to teach, including an enthusiastic learner named Shane Ross and a sarcastic one named Jo Wilson. But she was focused on the medicine and not their attitudes as she already had heard the rumors about her being nicknamed "the dud" by the other interns. Yet she was on the ball and actually taught the interns about trauma rather than making them suffer and be lackies like the other attending doctors.

"Dr. Kepner, the guy in bed four has had a fever for the last two hours and it just spiked up to over a hundred and four," Dr. Ross said as he approached with the chart. "He's been in the ER twice this week for fever already. And his lymph nodes are swollen this time."

April looked up at her intern. "Mr. Green is in bed four – his temperature was only ninety-nine when we last checked two hours ago. What could we be looking at, Dr. Ross?"

"Possible viral infection and resistance to antibiotics," he said, looking over the chart in his hand.

"Yes, those are possibilities, but what else?" April liked pushing the interns and residents to be better and think of all the possibilities while not overlooking details, as she had during her residency, which cost her greatly when she was fired the first time.

"Strep throat, the flu, and an infection of the throat, such as inflamed tonsils or adenoids could be the cause. Also cancer, but that is in extreme cases."

"Very good," she praised with a smile. "Page Dr. Sloan since he is an ENT specialist on-call today and run the cultures for him before he arrives so he doesn't have to ask."

Shane took his marching orders and went to swab Mr. Green's throat while April went back to organizing the charts and trauma center beds so they had some available in case of incoming traumas. This center was her and Hunt's baby, which meant she oversaw everything herself personally.

"Someone page for an ENT?" a voice asked behind her about twenty minutes later. She turned to see Mark Sloan with an iPad in his hand.

"Yes – I have a patient in the ER that may need his tonsils and adenoids taken out," she explained. "He's been in twice this week already with high fever and has shown no signs of improvement given antibiotics."

He nodded.

"Sloan – who is that?" someone asked from the iPad speaker. A familiar voice she knew all too well that made her freeze.

"It's just Kepner. I gotta go check this patient, Avery, so keep her company and I'll be right back." Sloan handed her the device and went to look at the patient in bed four.

April felt her hands shaking as she looked down to the screen at Jackson for the first time in three months. God he was still as handsome as ever, if not more since he was growing a little bit of scruff himself.

"Hi," she said, giving him a weak smile and a wave.

"Hey…I didn't know you were back in Seattle," he replied.

"Yeah, just a few days now. Um…Hunt came and offered me my job back to help prepare for my boards next year – I took him up on it since they need some extra hands around here." She bit her bottom lip nervously since she hadn't spoken to him in months and it was kind of awkward to see him now.

Jackson nodded and smiled a little. "That's a good thing. I'm happy for you…I think the trauma center can benefit from a good surgeon like you."

"How…how's Tulane?" she asked. She never took compliments all that well, so switching topics was safer. And he looked really good in his green scrubs, which brought out his eyes even more.

"It's great – a lot of really good opportunities for me to get going here. And the food is pretty good too," he replied with a little smirk.

"Better than our spot here?" she asked with a grin.

"Nah – nothing beats that spot," he said, shaking his head. "Remember when we found that place during intern year?"

She smiled at the memory. "You and Charles were both drunk…it was near the end of intern year, before our intern exam. Reed and I were trying to sober you guys up. It was the only place open past midnight in a two mile radius, so we brought you guys in and you both ate so much we thought you were going to throw up."

"Hey you guys could put away the pancakes too, from what I remember," Jackson laughed. "You and Reed were too damn patient for Charles and I back then."

"I miss them," she admitted sadly. "I miss you."

"I miss you too," he replied.

The weight of that statement really hit April as she realized how much Jackson meant to her and how he had always been her friend, even before all the mess with the boards and sleeping together. She missed that friendship more than anything because he was so easy to talk to about anything. Before April could say anything else, Mark returned from checking on her patient.

"His tonsils and adenoids need to come out. I'll book an OR since it'll take less than an hour," he said, handing over the chart to her again. "Once those come out, he'll be feeling better in less than a week."

"Thank you, Dr. Sloan," she replied as she looked up.

He took the iPad back from her before she could say goodbye to Jackson. "Avery, you still there?"

As Mark walked away, April sighed and went back to work, realizing how worked up she was. A five minute conversation with Jackson had her this frazzled. Inwardly, she cursed how gorgeous he was and how comfortable she was around him because of their five year friendship.

"Dr. Kepner?" Shane Ross' voice snapped her attention back.

"Yes Shane?"

"May I scrub in with Dr. Sloan? He offered to let me scrub in and watch this surgery." She could tell he was nervous about asking.

"Yes, go ahead. Send Brooks down to help cover the Pit with me," she said quickly as she gathered up the charts and prepared for an incoming trauma.

April finished out her day and went back to the frat house with some groceries for herself and Alex. He wasn't home yet, so she put the food up and made something for herself. While she ate, she looked over her notes for a few patients that she had at the moment that were in ICU. Her sisters were texting her, but she didn't want to reply just yet since they were all wondering if she had talked to Jackson since she moved back. And right now, she couldn't tell them about her five minutes with him because she knew what would happen and she wasn't prepared for that…at least not yet.

In New Orleans, Jackson had been home for a while, but couldn't wind down from his day. Three months of no communication with April and one conversation had sent him into a tailspin about everything. He had been trying so hard to move on because it was what was best for both of them. They were two different people with different needs and wants, yet he was bulldozed by the fact that he wanted her.

"You need to loosen up and live a little," his roommate said as she sat down beside him on the couch, where he had been sitting for nearly an hour. "You look so tense, I swear you might explode at any given moment, which wouldn't be pretty on my new rug."

"Yeah…well it was a long day," he replied with a shrug.

His roommate was a fellow plastic surgeon named Marnie, who Jackson hit it off with as friends during his first week at Tulane. She let him move into her two bedroom, two bathroom flat that she currently shared with her lab named Hurley since he was looking for a place to live and she wanted a roommate to split costs with. Jackson liked her as a person since she was pretty outgoing and she seemed to like the fact that a guy lived with her, for protection purposes, though she was pretty tough all on her own.

"Does that 'long day' have the name April attached to it?" Marnie asked, arching her brow.

Jackson sighed, realizing he should have kept his mouth shut when they were drinking a couple weeks back. But Marnie told him her own story about her fiancé being deployed for another year, so he just told her about April and how he might have fallen for his best friend, but wouldn't know because they were in two different places, both physically and mentally. They were also two different people, raised in different worlds. April came from a loving, involved, and endearing family while Jackson came from…well, the Avery family. And though his mother was loving, she was meddlesome and the rest of his family was just…well Averys.

"I was Skyping with Sloan and she is suddenly back in Seattle – I saw her on the chat and actually talked with her for the first time in three months," he replied.

"Ah…so all those feelings hit you again like a brick wall after going eighty?" she asked, arching her brow a little bit.

"I don't know," he sighed. Jackson knew he wasn't the best at expressing himself since he had been taught not to show emotion much, but his roommate was scarily accurate sometimes…which freaked him out.

"Well you're all worked up about something, so I'm going to take an educated guess and say you have real feelings for this girl." Marnie looked at him and smiled a little. "I don't know a whole lot about your situation, but you are so hung up on this girl, it's unreal."

Marnie had a point, which Jackson could not deny, even to himself. Ever since that night and the next day at the boards, things had been turned upside down for him about April and he couldn't quite explain it to himself or anyone else what was going on in his head. He had tried to stop her from leaving for Ohio and missed her plane, but he couldn't text or call her after that point because he thought it was some sort of sign that they should move on. But even so, he was caught up on the idea of what could have been if they had been in the same place. Their argument before the end of the year resident dinner had been pretty profound because it slapped him in the face that April didn't even think about the possibility of marrying him, but he tried not to take it to heart because April sometimes missed the most obvious of things, which was endearing and frustrating about her at the same time.

"It's complicated," he finally said, shaking his head. "April is…she isn't like other girls, so it's different."

"Isn't that supposed to be the point when you find someone you're supposed to be with?" Marnie asked. "I mean, look at Jeremy and I. He's military and I'm a doctor. We met at some bar six years ago when I was an intern at the local hospital and now, we're getting hitched."

"April was a virgin until about three months ago," Jackson blurted out, realizing he hadn't shared that piece of information. "When we took our boards, something…I dunno, flipped and I'm the one who took her virginity…well she gave it to me, but still."

"You deflowered a virgin, Avery…" Marnie said, chuckling and setting her wine glass down on the coffee table. "Let me guess…she changed her mind after the fact and regretted it?"

"Not exactly…" he trailed off, thinking about the second time in the men's room during the boards. "But then she dropped the bomb on me about her virginity being a religious choice and I had zero clue about that, even though we were friends for five years before this happened. So then it's all about the guilt and the breaking her promise to Jesus and not being a virgin for the man she was going to marry and it was one huge mess."

Marnie was laughing as Jackson looked at her. "You think this is funny?"

"Oh it's more than funny, it's freaking hilarious," Marnie said, still laughing. "You're hung up on this girl, who gave the guilt spiel about losing her virginity because of breaking a promise to Jesus. You're freaking Jackson Avery…you can have any girl you want and you are so hung up on her. It's actually kind of sweet."

He coughed awkwardly and scratched his jaw, seeing how this conversation had gone from bad to worse in just a few moments. "I'm gonna go try to sleep." He started to get up and go toward his room when she pulled him back down.

"Jackson, sit down and listen to me," Marnie demanded as she got serious. "April is…she may not be the kind of woman you ever pictured yourself with, but she is something special to you. Now, you may not know what the hell that is yet, but you deserve to have the chance to figure it out. It's not gonna be easy, but the best things in life aren't, but are worth the fight and the effort. You told me that you went to stop her plane the day she left…what's stopping you from boarding a plane to Seattle right now?"

"I have obligations here. I made a commitment to this program," he defended, shaking his head.

"You can change. We are human beings, not something cemented to the ground wherever we go," she reminded him. "I'm sure Sloan is itching to have you there anyway since that man calls your phone every other day with cases to consult with. That is a bromance if I ever saw one."

Jackson had to laugh, shaking his head because Marnie was right about Sloan. His mentor had wanted him to stay in Seattle, but also told him Tulane was a great place to do his fellowship because their plastics program was one of the top ones in the country.

"I just have to see this through here," he said. "I'm an Avery, so everything I do is important for my career and I have to make sure I don't mess it up. I already have my family on my ass because I picked plastics as my specialty."

"Well you would think in a family full of cardio surgeons, your heart would be the most important thing," Marnie posited. "But this is your choice, Jackson. However, I would advise you to think carefully about your choices and consider what is best for _you_. Not your family. Not anyone else, but you."

Marnie smiled and got up, patting Jackson's shoulder as she went off to her room to get some sleep, leaving Jackson with his thoughts. He sat on the couch and scratched Hurley's ears as he came over for some attention. While he knew that logically, he and April shouldn't be together, it made more sense to be with her than it did to be with anyone else. He didn't work out with Lexie because she was still in love with Mark and he was happy to step aside for them to be together because he wanted to see them both happy. But April…she was the first person in his profession to see him for who he was and not just the name behind his family. In fact, the first time they met, she called him Jackson and made no mention of his family's name. She simply asked him little things, like where he had grown up and what he wanted to specialize in. Back then, she had been thinking Neuro and Peds for herself, but now she was a kickass trauma surgeon that he was fiercely proud of, regardless of if she failed her boards or not.

So much had changed since then. They had gained friends, lost them, moved hospitals, and found themselves on the precipice of growing up because they had taken their boards and she had given her virginity to him. That night had been far more than just sex for him, though he pretended otherwise, but he didn't know where he stood or what he should do. Ultimately, he had to make a decision, but right now…he knew he couldn't.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys! I know my schedule has been crazy, but I'm hoping to have another chapter out soon! I love you all dearly and as always, let me know what you think!**


	8. Fall In Love At A Glance

After that one brief conversation with Jackson, April threw herself into work hard and helping Dr. Hunt with running the trauma center. The lawsuit for the crash victims was going forward and they had heard rumors that the hospital was under some sort of fire, but April wasn't entirely sure what was happening yet. Instead of worrying, she let herself think about the positive things, including planning for Mark and Lexie's wedding.

Today, however, was another special day as Dr. Bailey was getting married – a wedding that many had waited for. April loved weddings and had spent a while getting ready for this one in particular since she considered Dr. Bailey to be a mentor of hers. She had picked out her strapless green dress and black heels, pulling her hair back into a loose up-do.

"Wow…green looks really good on you," Lexie complimented as she came in the room, wearing a deep red dress that showed off her figure.

"Well…" she blushed with a laugh. "It is a Christmas wedding, of sorts, so green kind of works I guess."

Her friend grinned. "Well, work it."

"Thanks," she smiled. "You look really gorgeous too."

April had always felt mousy in comparison to Lexie, Cristina, Meredith, and some of the other women around the hospital. But in the last few months, she had become a little more confident in herself, though it had been just baby steps. And wearing something like this really stretched the bounds of her comfort zone. But it was one of the nicest dresses she owned that was formal enough for a wedding and fit the theme of the wedding itself without being too clashy.

"You ready?" Lexie asked.

April nodded and stood up from her seat to grab her clutch. They made their way down to the lobby of the hospital where Mark was waiting for both of them. As they went outside, April felt her little anxieties flare up again since she hadn't been included in the 'in-crowd' a lot when she was growing up.

"You guys really don't have to give me a ride," she insisted. "I would be really intruding."

"Nonsense," Lexie said, shaking her head. "It's a wedding, so we don't mind carpooling."

"Come on Kepner, get in the car and let's get going," Mark urged with a grin.

She smiled and got in the back, buckling up before looking out the window. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground and more falling already, which was absolutely stunning in her mind. People had Christmas lights up, which only added to the magic and the romance of the night. She smiled as she looked out the window, thinking about how lucky Dr. Bailey was to be getting married on such a beautiful night as it was.

When they arrived, April got out and went in with Lexie and Mark before they were seated. Alex Karev had come with the intern named Jo Wilson, though neither looked particularly pleased to be there with one another. Apparently, Alex had lost a bet with someone and had to ask her to the wedding as a date, which April found rather amusing. While they were all seated close together while they waited for the ceremony to begin, April was caught off-guard when someone she didn't expect showed up.

"Jackson…" she breathed. He came in wearing a suit and tie, which looked so handsome on him. Her mind flashed back to San Francisco in that men's bathroom. He was wearing a suit then and she had pulled at the lapels of his jacket while they kissed. And God he was a good kisser.

"April?" Lexie's voice brought her out of her stupor.

"What?" She turned and tried to hide the obvious flush in her cheeks.

"They're postponing the wedding for a little while…Bailey got called in for an emergency at the hospital," her friend explained. "They said to just hang out and enjoy the food."

"Oh…okay, I'll be right back," she said, getting up to go to the reception area. The food looked amazing as she picked out a few things for herself.

Jackson showing up to the wedding hadn't been what she expected today, especially since she didn't think he would be invited or come because he was living in New Orleans now. But apparently she had mistaken that assumption and was now panicking as she didn't know what to do or say to him since their last conversation had been so awkward and only five minutes long.

"Hey April," a voice said behind her, causing her to jump as she turned and saw Jackson standing there with his hands in his pants pockets.

"Hi…Jackson," she replied softly, stumbling on his name.

"How are you?" He looked so handsome with his scruff, which looked about a week old.

"I'm fine…just fine. I uh…I'm good." She didn't know when she had become such a babbling idiot around her best friend, but it was embarrassing.

Well part of her knew when she became such an idiot around him…right around the time she decided it would be a good idea to sleep with her best friend because it felt right. But it hadn't felt bad. Not in the physical sense. It felt really…_really_ good, even her first time once she got past the initial discomfort. And Jackson had been gentle and caring, making sure she was comfortable. Five years of pent-up sexual attraction to him really played itself out when they jumped each other in the bathroom the following afternoon too…but she forced herself to focus on now.

"I didn't know you were coming to Bailey's wedding," she went on, ignoring her moment and getting a grip on herself.

"I got an invitation and I have a lot of respect for Dr. Bailey," he replied. "But I'm glad I came."

"Me too…glad I came…it's a beautiful wedding – well the set-up and decorations," she rambled nervously.

"Can we talk?" he asked.

* * *

When April agreed to talk to him, they stepped out into a lobby area and found a private place where they wouldn't be bothered and no one would walk in on their conversation. Jackson looked at her and cursed the fact that she was wearing that tight green, strapless dress though…since he wanted to rip it right off and show her how much he missed her right here and now. Instead, he forced himself to focus.

"April…" he began.

"Jackson – I'm sorry," she interrupted, surprising him with her apology.

"What…why?" He was confused for a moment.

"We…we stopped talking after I went home. I never wanted that because you're my best friend," she said, looking at him. "I was being a coward."

"It's not your fault," he said. "We both…the road goes both ways in friendship, right?"

She nodded and sighed. "Having sex with you changed everything and I just…I miss my best friend."

"I miss you too," he said, giving her a faint smile.

She paused for a moment, as if she was thinking before she spoke again after a minute or two of silence. "But…what we did in San Francisco felt really good…"

"And when something feels good, it can't be bad…" he finished.

The space between them grew closer as he leaned in close. He brushed his lips over hers before she grabbed the lapels of his coat and kissed him passionately. Moving his arms around her waist, he pulled her flush against his body as they made out in the corner of the lobby. It was all tongue and lips as they gasped and moaned into the kiss. Months of pent-up sexual tension between them had finally just pushed them to the edge.

It took all of Jackson's self-control to not rip her dress off and ravish her right there and then. But April wasn't some cheap hook-up that you took to a coat closet at a wedding. She was the kind of girl that you dated and grew serious with, which he had known for a long time now, even before their night in San Francisco.

"Jackson…we…" she said as they broke for breath. "We should stop before we can't…I can't do this again. I'm…I decided to save myself for marriage again. It's a thing…revirginizing. There's um…lots of prayer and penitence. And I…yeah."

He stepped back and ran his hand over his head. God knew he wanted her again, but he wouldn't do anything unless she wanted to. He didn't even know you could do that once you lost your virginity, but he didn't question April's faith because apparently those things were possible.

"We should get back…Bailey should be here any minute and I…I don't wanna miss the wedding."

They returned to the party and the wedding went off without a hitch once the bride arrived. He saw April tearing up and smiled, knowing how sentimental weddings were to her. When the royal wedding aired, April had purposefully stayed up all night to watch it, keeping a box of tissues close by for when she teared up at the dress and the vows that the couple shared. Karev called it stupid, but Jackson found it endearing in a way. Just like her need to control things, which was annoying at times, but what made her who she was.

After the wedding, they all went to the reception and had some fun. They had a few drinks, danced, and ate while the bride and groom had their attention occupied by the other guests and family members. Jackson danced with Lexie and congratulated her and Sloan on their new house, which they had purchased together since their wedding was next month. And near the end of the night, he asked April for a dance.

"I saved the best for last," he said as he held her close while the music played.

"Oh?" April seemed surprised.

"Yeah," he replied.

"You're going back to New Orleans tomorrow?" she asked after a quiet moment or two.

"Yes – I've got a case I'm working on there that we've been planning for weeks and they need me there tomorrow morning to go over the labs and the final preparations."

"I understand," she said softly. "I miss you talking to you though. Do you think we could have a Skype night once a week or something?"

He smiled and nodded. "I'd like that."

Knowing he and April could talk once a week gave him hope, though he didn't say or dare breathe it out loud. Jackson hadn't been good at articulating his feelings and never had been really, but that was part of being an Avery and an unfortunate part at that. You excelled professionally, but personally you suffered. However, he wanted to change that for himself. And maybe mending the bridges of his and April's friendship was a way to start.

* * *

**A/N: I decided to give you guys another chapter because of so much positive response to the last one...so, here is a long-awaited reunion of Japril...and potential for the future? _Review_ and you shall see!**


	9. Bells

**A/N: Thank you again for all the feedback! This chapter is rated M...for reasons. ;) _Review_ as always!**

* * *

April spent the weeks following Bailey's wedding working hard. The holidays were always some of the busiest times of the year in the trauma center, so she worked on Christmas Eve and took Christmas Day off to Skype with her family in Ohio and Jackson in New Orleans before working both New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Everyone was pulling double shifts, including the attendings, which April knew was because of all the plane crash negotiations and payouts. The hospital was under fire by an efficiency agent that wanted to shut down the trauma center, which sent her and Hunt spinning their wheels. As trauma surgeons, the trauma center was their home and their playing field. But the settlement from the crash hard really impacted the hospital in a negative and crippling way. And while April didn't blame Hunt or the victims, she knew many who did. But her focus wasn't on blame, but rather making sure that the trauma center was spared.

However, today was not about hospitals, money, or drama from the plane crash. Today was another wedding. Lexie and Mark's wedding had finally arrived. She had spent months preparing and helping Lexie plan an amazing wedding.

"I'm really glad I have you guys here," Lexie said as she sat in her dress while April did her hair.

"We're happy to be here," she grinned. "You and Mark were meant to be together. Everyone knows it and has for a long time."

Her friend laughed. "Took us long enough to figure it out though."

There was a knock at the door before Callie and Arizona came in with Sofia, who looked so incredibly cute in her little flower girl dress.

"Hey…we have another little flower girl reporting for duty," Callie said with a smile.

"Hi cutie!" April gushed as Sofia came over to Lexie. The little girl bashfully buried her face in Lexie's dress before peeking out and giggling.

"You look like a princess, Sofia," Lexie said, kissing her head before looking at Callie. "Has Mark seen her yet?"

Callie nodded and smiled widely. "He will be even more amazed when he sees you though."

April absolutely loved weddings for the moment that the groom saw the bride for the first time. There were some men that teared up and others that sincerely had looks of joy on their faces when they saw the woman they were going to marry. That moment was the most sweet and sincere moment of a wedding and she had dreamed of that for herself, but the right guy hadn't come along – at least the one who believed she was their girl.

"Well, this happens to be one of my best hair-dos yet," she declared proudly as she pinned the last curl into place on Lexie's head.

"Thank you so much April," Lexie said sincerely, standing up. "Now I guess it's time for me to get married."

Everyone began filing out, leaving the bridal party behind. Thatcher Grey came in and shared a little moment with Lexie as father and daughter before Derek and Jackson arrived to escort Meredith and herself down the aisle. Since this was a smaller wedding party, April knew it wouldn't take long for everyone to get down to the altar and the ceremony to begin.

"You look really nice," Jackson said, making her blush a little.

"You don't look too bad yourself," she replied as she took his arm.

They walked down the aisle together before taking their respective places at the altar, with Meredith and Derek joining them. When Lexie came down the aisle a few minutes later, all eyes were on her, but April glanced to Mark to see that he was beaming from ear-to-ear at his bride, with a few tears that she could see from where she stood. She knew all along that Mark loved Lexie, though they had been through the wringer together and apart. Now they were starting a whole new life together as husband and wife, which April thought was a beautiful thing.

The ceremony was beautiful and April found herself wiping away a tear now and then. When the marriage was sealed with a kiss and the new couple was introduced, she and Jackson went back up the aisle together. Pictures were taken and everyone was off to the reception, which was at a nearby ballroom. Everyone was seated and dinner began, which was followed by the speeches. Following Derek's, April stood up and took the microphone. Since Meredith wasn't big on public speaking, she had volunteered to give one instead.

"Good evening everyone, my name is April Kepner," she began. "I've been friends with Lexie for a little while now since we work at the same hospital as surgeons, but we haven't always gotten off on the best foot. And it took a while for us to finally be friends. But in the entire time I've known her, there is one thing I have known to be utterly true about Lexie. And that is her love for Mark. When they talk about true love, I can see it in the way Mark and Lexie look at each other. It's real and that's special."

April looked to Mark and Lexie. "You guys are what everyone should strive to be. A couple that overcomes all the odds to be together. I wish you both happiness, love, and joy in your marriage and your lives," she said sincerely, raising her glass. "To Mark and Lexie!"

Everyone toasted again before the dancing began. The newlyweds shared their first dance while everyone watched and then joined in as couples. April smiled and kept to the side until Jackson came over beside her.

"That was a really good speech," he said.

She smiled a little. "Thanks," she said. "I was a little nervous."

"It didn't show," he grinned.

"Liar," she laughed, nudging his side.

They fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments. It had been about a month since they had been in the same room as one another, but nothing had changed in a way. Yet there was the lingering questions about the kiss they had shared at Bailey's wedding. What had it meant? Did it mean anything? Or were they just going to ignore it?

"Jackson, I…" she began, glancing at him.

"I want to talk," he said at the same time.

She grabbed his hand and walked outside, near the limo the bridal party had taken from the ceremony to the reception. It was pretty chilly outside, so they slipped into the back of the limo together and sat down in the farthest seat in back.

"I've been thinking a lot – about us and the whole um…revirginizing thing," he began carefully. "The next guy you have sex with…he will probably be your husband. And that is, well that is okay because it's important to you. But if I'm being honest, I'm not ready to be anyone's husband – nor are you to be anyone's wife. I don't regret what we did and if it happened again, it would be because we both wanted it to."

April heard what Jackson was saying, but being so close to him again after being apart for over a month now, she was drawn in without any hesitation on her part.

"Unless…we want to…" she repeated, feeling her lips dangerously close to his. Before she could stop herself, she kissed him and placed her hands on either side of his face.

He kissed her back as she moved to straddle his lap, pressing his back to the seat of the limo. Their tongues danced and tangled as she moaned into the kiss deeply.

"April…" he groaned, breaking their lips apart.

"I want this…" she murmured against his lips. "I want you…"

His lips crushed against hers in another earth-shattering kiss, causing tingles to shoot down her spine. Every kiss they shared was amazing and passionate in its own way, but this one was the kiss to end all right now. As they kissed, his hands traced up her outer thighs under her dress before hiking it up enough over her hips. Pulling back, she bit her bottom lip and held her hands on his chest. Keeping her eyes on his, she moved her hands down to his pants.

Fumbling a little with the buckle of his pants, she managed to undo them and unzip the fly slowly. He was already aroused and growing hard when she freed him.

"Do you have…protection?" she asked, still biting her lip.

Jackson nodded and brought out his wallet, sliding a condom out. "Do you want me to…?" he asked, looking at her.

"I'll do it," she said quietly, taking it from him and unwrapping it before sliding her hand over him a few times to make him grow harder. When he was ready, she rolled the condom on.

He kissed along her neck, making her gasp a little and hold onto his shoulders as he slid his hand between her thighs and moved her panties to the side enough to allow her to sink down onto him. She moaned softly at the feel of him filling her up and found his lips with her own again, kissing him soundly to stifle the noises of her moans and gasps.

There in the backseat of the limo at their best friends' wedding, they made love and reconnected physically for the first time since the boards last year. And it felt wonderful to April as she rocked up and down on Jackson and felt him planting kisses along her neck from her jaw down, which was going to leave a hickey as he started nipping and sucking on a particular spot. She gasped and moaned louder, knowing that it was a sensitive place for her, one in which Jackson found during their tryst in the men's bathroom last year.

"Oh God…Jackson," she gasped, holding his shoulders as she moved up and down on him. She was already tensing up and knew she wouldn't last long as she kissed him again.

A few short strokes later, she was peaking and cried out softly. And he followed soon after with a groan and a few kisses on her lips. They were both languid and satisfied for a few moments before she moved off of his lap and smoothed her dress while she caught her breath. Jackson cleaned himself up and threw away their used condom before zipping up his pants.

"That was…" she said, trying to think of the words but none were coming to her mind right now.

"Amazing?" he asked, looking over at her with a smile.

She nodded and looked back at him. "Amazing," she agreed as she caught her breath and began to come out of the haze that she went into every time she and Jackson were together.

"We should…get back to the party before they see us missing," he said, laughing a little.

"Yeah," she said, laughing with him.

He opened the door and got out, holding out his hand for her to take. She stepped out and straightened her dress a little before helping him fix his tie. Jackson had always looked so handsome in a suit and she knew that it was so hard to resist him when he looked like that. Smiling, she took a deep breath.

"I'm gonna go inside and figure out if Lexie needs me and Meredith to do anything before she and Sloan head out on their honeymoon," she said, squeezing his hand once before heading inside.

"Kepner," Alex called as she came inside.

"Alex, what?" she asked, coming over to him. He seemed pretty serious.

"You might wanna cover up the giant hickey on your neck from Avery sucking on it," he said, smirking.

"Oh crap!" she gasped, running to the ladies room to see that Alex was right. There was a hickey on her neck. "No no no…crap!" She started trying to move her hair enough to cover it, but that wasn't working. She didn't expect the marks to appear this fast, but apparently she'd been wrong.

Callie came out of the stall to the mirror, looking at April before chuckling. "Here, use this cover up…no one will know Avery sucked your neck at a wedding," she said, offering her a concealer.

April took it and started applying it quickly, relieved that it was covering the already appearing marks on her neck. "How do you know it was Jackson?"

"Because you two have been eyeing each other all night long like animals in heat," Callie said, laughing. "It's like scary bears during mating season. Only the bears are a red-head and a very sexy piece of man."

Blushing profusely, April handed the concealer back and straightened out her hair and dress. "Well…I'm not confirming that it was, but thank you for the cover-up," she said, shaking her head before stepping out of the bathroom and back to Lexie and Mark's reception.

The party went on for a while longer before the bride and groom were sent off on their honeymoon while everyone else was left to clean up and head home. She and Jackson stayed to clean up a little before they found themselves alone again.

"You're leaving tomorrow morning?" she asked, feeling like she was always asking him this question when she saw him.

"I don't leave til the afternoon this time," he offered, smiling a little.

"Do you want to…stay the night?" she asked. "Karev isn't going to be at the house. I saw him and Wilson running toward some room, so we'd have the house to ourselves."

Jackson nodded as they slipped out of the party, holding hands as they found a limo to get a ride home in. Consequently, the same one they had just had sex in not even an hour earlier, but they managed to contain themselves and got home to the house. April wasn't sure what any of it meant, but she didn't want to lose him. Not tonight, so she went inside and hoped that tomorrow didn't come.


	10. Please Tell Me What I Need

A month came and went following Mark and Lexie's wedding, which had gone much faster than usual for April, but that was mostly due to her being swamped with work and trying to save the hospital from Pegasus buying them out. April knew Dr. Hunt was trying his hardest to do what was best for the hospital, however from what Dr. Torres and Dr. Webber said, hospitals run by Pegasus had miserable doctors.

"I swear this hospital financial crisis is trying to make my fifth year hell," Lexie groaned as she put her charts down on the desk.

"It's hell for everyone, I think," she sighed, going over a chart. "The trauma center is shut down, meaning my life is hell and patients who would normally be served here have to pray to God they find a hospital close by. And there are rumors among the interns that the hospital is going under and they're all talking about jumping ship.

"We won't let that happen," Lexie insisted. "This is our home and our hospital."

"I agree, but the hospital is now bankrupt and there is no way to save it without a buyer," she said dejectedly.

"Maybe there is another solution," she brunette suggested with a smile.

"You know something…tell me what you –" she was cut off by her phone beeping with an incoming FaceTime from Jackson. "Hold that thought."

She answered with her camera on and saw Jackson in his scrubs. Since their encounter at the wedding, that night in her bed at the frat house, and the following morning in the shower before he left for New Orleans again, they had been talking a lot more.

"Hey," he greeted with a smile.

"Hi," she replied. "I thought you were in surgery this morning – did it get postponed?"

"Yeah…my patient coded on the table," he said, scratching his jaw.

"Oh God…Jackson, I'm so sorry," she said sincerely, knowing how hard it was to lose a patient, even the ones that came in for routine surgeries.

"The patient had an unforeseen adverse reaction to the anesthesia," he explained. "I just told the family."

Part of being a surgeon was informing the family of the results, even when they were ba. And that was never an easy task to do when the news wasn't the outcome they had hoped for. April knew she had a hard time with that still, even as an attending surgeon, especially in cases where she had grown to know the family and the patient relatively well.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah – it's just been a rough morning. How about you…any word on the hospital buy out yet?" She had been keeping Jackson up to date with what was happening with Seattle Grace-Mercy West since he had moved and the hospital had gone bankrupt.

She shook her head. "Nothing new. Pegasus is still the buyer they are considering seriously, but – it's bad, Jackson."

"My mother said nothing good ever came from Pegasus – they don't act like doctors really. Pretty sure she said they're robots or something like that. It's all about numbers and money to them, not patient care."

Hearing that made April cringe on the inside. Being a doctor was never about the money for her. Or most doctors for that matter. They got into the medical field to help others and that was what she had wanted to do from the moment she decided to pursue her medical career.

"I just hope there is another way because I don't want my patients to become just numbers to me," she sighed.

"Yeah, keep me updated about it?" he asked.

"Of course," she replied.

"I've gotta go prep for another surgery, but I'll all again later," he said, smiling at her.

"Okay – have a good surgery and I'll talk to you soon," she said, hanging up with him.

"You and Jackson got awfully close recently," Lexie teased as she looked up from the charts. "A lot closer since…my wedding."

Her cheeks flushed. "He's my…my best friend and we…we talk."

Lexie gasped. "You had slutty wedding sex at my wedding!"

April reddened even harder in her face and pulled Lexie into an on-call room before shutting the door behind them to give them a little privacy from the interns and everyone else walking around on the surgical floor.

"Okay…um, Jackson and I did have sex at your wedding," she admitted, her face flaming red. "And that night and the next morning, but that…I shouldn't even talk about that…I'm shutting up now…"

"I thought you revirginized or whatever that is."

"I did, but…" she paused for a moment to think. "You know when you're at the carnival and the rides are so much fun and there are all different ones to try when you first get there?"

Lexie nodded. "And some carnivals have…more than others."

"Well…I like going to the carnival with Jackson. I love it, actually, but I always feel sick after," she lamented. "Not like…really sick, but guilty. Like eating too much funnel cake when you know you're on a diet."

"The carnival shouldn't feel guilty, April," her friend insisted. "You and Jackson care about each other, right?"

"Well yeah, but…" she was cut off.

"Then date! Be a couple and see what happens," Lexie suggested. "You will spend the rest of your life wondering what would have happened if you dated if you just ignore what is between the two of you."

"But he lives in New Orleans," she said. "And it's complicated and I…"

Before she could continue, Lexie dashed to the nearest trash can and emptied her stomach while April looked on in confusion and shock. She hadn't realized that her love life was so disinteresting or confusing that it would literally make someone get sick from the dizzying effect that was April Kepner talking herself in circles.

"God, my love life sucks so bad that you're literally throwing up. Great. Just great."

"April, I'm pregnant you idiot," Lexie breathed as she relaxed and sat down.

"Oh my God!" she said excitedly. "You're having a baby!"

"I'm only six weeks in and no one else but Mark knows yet. We got pregnant on our honeymoon or close to it – but I want to wait and keep it a secret until my second trimester."

"You're gonna be a great mom! And your secret is safe with me, I swear," she promised with a grin. April had always known, especially once Lexie became an aunt to Zola, that she would be a great mom someday when she was ready for it. And now that she and Mark were married, they were going to be great parents together.

"Thank you," Lexie said. "And you should really think about what I said about dating Jackson. He is a great guy and really does care about you."

"I know…and I will, but there is a lot to consider," she said, looking at her hands. She knew that even if she and Jackson wanted to date, there was the fact that he lived close to a thousand miles away for at least another year.

"Take it from me…the carnival is worth it," Lexie grinned before leaving April alone with her thoughts in the on-call room.

That night she came home to her own apartment and made her dinner, pouring a glass of wine for herself. She sat down and thought about what Lexie had said earlier about dating Jackson. If they did become a couple, things would change between them once again. And there was the chance that he didn't feel that way about her. That the sex was just sex between them and nothing more. And if that was the case, then she didn't want to risk what friendship they had. She mulled over that while she ate her dinner.

As she finished up, she went to the kitchen to clean up her dishes when her doorbell rang. Checking the time, she wondered who it could be as she went to open the door.

"Jackson, what are you doing here?" she asked, surprised to see him standing in her doorway at nearly midnight.

"I have a good reason, but I can't say anything yet," he replied.

"Come in, I have some leftover pasta if you're hungry," she offered as he came in the door. "H-how did you know where I lived now?"

"I asked Lexie," he laughed.

"Oh, right," she said, laughing off as she sat down on her couch.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was coming – it was last minute and I rushed to the airport to catch the last flight out here," he explained, sitting beside her on the couch.

"No, no it's okay," she assured him. "I wasn't doing anything anyway.

They sat together on the couch, April wringing her hands back and forth for a few moments.

"Hey…you okay?" he asked, looking at her.

Glancing up quickly, she nodded. "I'm fine…just thinking about a lot that's going on is all." It wasn't a total lie, but wasn't the whole truth either.

"Want me to rub your shoulders to relieve some of the tension?" he asked.

April smiled faintly. "That would be wonderful."

She moved to turn her back to him as his hands slid up her back to her shoulders. He had always been good with his hands, but there was a whole new level of intimacy there hadn't been before now. As he rubbed her shoulders, she moaned softly and leaned into his careful strokes. She needed this more than she realized with all the stress she'd been under lately.

"God you're good with your hands," she moaned without realizing what she was saying until it was already out of her mouth.

"I can do a lot more with my hands," he whispered huskily in her ear as he leaned in and kissed her neck.

A shiver went up her spine with his words as she turned and kissed him. The kiss was needy and passionate as she turned her body around. Her hands ran over his chest and she kissed down his neck.

"Take me…to bed…" she demanded between her kisses.

He didn't argue with her as he got up and scooped April into his arms. Her own arms wrapped around his neck as they went toward her bedroom.

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**A/N: Hehe don't you just love cliffhangers? _Review_ and let me know! Thank you so very much for all your continued support.**


	11. Ships In The Night

April's eyes fluttered open saw the most beautiful sigh next to her. Flashes of the previous night came to her mind as she looked to see the tangled sheets around her and Jackson. He was laying on his stomach, so she could see his muscled back which made her groan as she flopped back onto her back against her pillow. He was the most gorgeous man she had ever seen and was laying in her bed, which she would have never thought would happen. For a few moments, she laid there and thought about the night before. She had Jackson had given in and had sex…again. And it was really good – amazing even, but the guilt was really hitting her already.

"Mmm…good morning," Jackson said as he stirred.

She pulled the sheets closer around her body. "Morning…"

He turned on his side and looked at her. The combination of his beautiful eyes and sculpted chest was hard to resist this early in the morning as she had to avert her eyes.

"I should get ready…I have early rounds and um…a study session with Torres for my boards," she said, bumbling along with her words.

"Okay – we could shower," he suggested with a smile.

"Together?" she asked. They had showered together the last time they were together, right after Mark and Lexie's wedding, but she still felt insecure about Jackson seeing her naked.

"Yeah…it'll save us time," he offered.

"Okay," she agreed hesitantly as she got up with the sheet around her body.

Jackson got up completely naked and strode into her bathroom. He was so incredibly sexy and she couldn't help but watch him for a moment before walking in behind him. The water came on and Jackson slipped in, holding out his hand for her. After a deep breath, she dropped the sheet and came in the shower with him. Water cascaded over both of them as April placed her hands on his cheeks and kissed him soundly.

When their kiss broke, she looked at him as he stepped back to glance over her body. She blushed and fought the urge to cover herself. April had always been self-conscious of her body and knew that it came from years of being a virgin and being guilted about sex, her body, and sexuality in general.

"April…you are gorgeous," he said, touching her hip to draw her closer to him.

"Am I?" she asked seriously. No one but Jackson had ever seen her naked and she wanted to be sure that he was sure about what he was saying since he was so much more experienced than she was.

"You are the sexiest woman I've ever seen," he murmured as he kissed her neck, making her shiver.

"Jackson…I…we can't," she mumbled and bit her lip. "No…oh God…no condoms in here…"

"We can still fool around," he grinned, kissing her deeply as his lips touched hers. She didn't argue as her tongue slipped into his mouth.

A while later, cold water sent them retreating to her bedroom, laughing and shivering in their towels. April looked over at Jackson and smiled. She loved how they could have fun together and she felt comfortable with him, even with her usual insecurities.

"I think that's the first time I've ever used up all the hot water like that," she laughed as she went to find clean clothes, keeping the towel wrapped around her body.

"Always fun to do though," he replied with a smirk.

Rolling her eyes, April took her clothes and went to the bathroom to get dressed. She pulled her bra and panties on before her jeans, long-sleeved shirt, and a cute vest before stepping out. Her favorite pair of boots were right in her closet as she grabbed them to pull on, sitting down on the bed.

"Do you have a lot of surgeries today?" he asked, pulling a hoodie on.

"Um…I have two scheduled procedures from a few traumas that I saw weeks ago, before the trauma center closed…they're coming in for post-op procedures to finish some stuff," she replied. "What are you up to?"

"I'm meeting with Sloan, Lexie, Robbins, Shepherd, Yang, Meredith, and Robbins," he said nonchalantly.

"Wait…why?" she asked. "Those are all the plane crash survivors."

"I can't say yet, but I will tell you soon," he promised, making April even more confused as to what was happening.

"Oh…okay," she said as she went into the bathroom to dry her hair and throw it into a quick braid. "I'm going in for rounds. Do you want to ride with me?"

He nodded and they went toward the door of her apartment and down to her car. The ride to the hospital was pretty quiet as she thought about what she and Jackson had done last night and in the shower. It was wrong, immoral, and she felt so guilty about it because she was so weak when it came to Jackson. But her sister's words also came to mind. Why would God be angry with her for falling for someone He placed in her life? But maybe she was supposed to resist him and be strong about her commitment to God. Or maybe Jackson was meant to be in her life as something more?

"April?" Jackson's voice made her jump. "Are you okay?"

"Uh yeah…I was just thinking," she replied, realizing they were already at the hospital and she had just zoned out completely. "Sorry."

"It's okay – I'll see you later?" he asked as he was getting out.

"Yeah, later," she sighed, getting out as well.

Watching Jackson disappear to whatever meeting he was going to, April sighed and went to change into her scrubs. Since the ER was closed, she was mostly scrubbing in on general procedures that she could swipe from either Bailey or Meredith, but today she had her own scheduled procedures from previous patients to scrub in on. Grabbing a few residents and interns, she scrubbed in and began a bowel repair on an older gentleman. Surgery was cathartic for her as it brought her anxiety down and helped her focus a lot more.

"Dr. Kepner, if the hospital is bought out by Pegasus, what'll happen to the interns?" Shane Ross asked while she worked.

"Hold the retractor tighter, Dr. Ross," she instructed, ignoring his question for a moment.

When he did as she asked, she continued working on the surgery, focused on the patient and what she was doing.

"If the hospital is bought by Pegasus, it's likely that the teaching program will not exist any longer," she said honestly. "You will all likely have to transfer to other hospitals and programs."

"Is there any hope or should we just start looking?" Jo Wilson asked.

"You know the saying 'Hope for the best and prepare for the worst', right?" she asked. They all nodded. "No one wants to see this hospital close or lose our teaching program, but we are hurting in a bad way."

"Because the crash victims all bankrupted us," Jo snorted.

"They didn't ask to be on that plane that day," April defended. "They were just doing what they were told to do in order to care for patients that they were going to save in Boise." She knew the struggle each of the survivors went through and how they felt guilty that the payout they received had come from the hospital instead of the plane company as they originally thought it would. Lexie had told her that the plane company had shut down recently, so there were small victories there, but at the same time…they all felt guilty to take from the hospital that had given them all so much in their time there.

"We almost lost several amazing doctors and many of them were badly hurt. So this is not their fault and I don't ever want to hear any of you blaming them ever again."

April finished and left her third year resident to close up while she scrubbed out and went to one of the nurses' stations with the chart, telling the nurses what she wanted monitored for her patient post-op. Handing over the chart, she went to the cafeteria to grab something to eat since it was now after noon.

"April!" Jackson called from behind her as she turned to see him catching up with her with a smile.

"You look happy…good meeting?"

He surprised her by pulling her into an on-call room before shutting the door. April looked at him, confused for a moment as to what was happening.

"We can save the hospital from the Pegasus buyout," he said, grinning happily.

"Wh-what?! How?!" April was shocked, but happy as she realized there was hope.

"Everyone from the crash has put in their money – totaling about ninety million – and the Harper Avery Foundation is putting up the rest of the money," he explained.

"Oh my God!" she gasped. "What does that mean for the hospital?"

"It means the doors stay open, the hospital will have a new board – the doctors, and the trauma center will officially reopen," he replied, smiling. "But it does come with strings attached, like everything else."

"Oh…what are they?" April could imagine money like that would come with requirements.

He scratched his jaw and then his head a little. "The Foundation wants someone on the board that has their interests in mind…I was the one chosen because saving this hospital was my project."

"Jackson…what does that mean…?" She didn't dare breathe the words she was thinking right now, in fear that this was all some dream and that she would wake up from it any second now.

"It means that I'm moving back to Seattle," he finished.

"But you love Tulane…why would you give that up?" She knew from their conversations that he was so happy in New Orleans and his fellowship by how he talked about it.

"Because this hospital means a lot to me," he replied, giving her a small smile. "And it deserves to keep being a teaching hospital for the new generations of doctors to come through the doors."

She smiled a little. "You're coming back to Seattle…"

"Think I could get my old roommate back?" he asked.

"Well I do have a spare room…" she trailed off, smiling a little.

"It'll be like old times," he said, smiling.

"Yeah…just like old times."

April didn't want it to be like old times though. She wanted something more and realized it the moment she knew Jackson was coming back to Seattle. With the hospital doors staying open, she knew that it would be complicated for a while for both of them with the amount of work that needed to be done for the hospital to be up and running again, but she wanted to sit down and talk with Jackson about what they were…if they were anything. Because, to her, he was so much more than someone she just had sex with…even though it's what it was seeming like to her. He had been there for her, especially after the shooting when they lost Reed and Charles, but always as only her friend. The boards had changed all of that and she still didn't know where she stood. Not anymore at least. But Jackson coming home to Seattle would change things and she knew that she would be forced to face what was and wasn't part of their relationship, finally.

* * *

**A/N: You guys are the best! I love hearing back from you guys so _review_ please and let me know what you think!**


	12. Clarity

"The new trauma center looks absolutely amazing," Lexie gushed as she came in with the last of the supplies. "You and Hunt did a phenomenal job of redesigning everything in three weeks."

April blushed and finished inputting the information into the system on the computer. "We wanted something more efficient to help with patient transfer from the ER to the OR with less confusion and more access to patient files for doctors without sending interns to find them."

"I think it's awesome…and the full body scanner? Coolest toy ever."

"Why do you think Hunt and Jackson agreed to get it?" she asked with a smirk.

The two women giggled and went about finishing the preparations to reopen the trauma center in the morning. Since the hospital was bought by the doctors from the crash and Jackson's family's foundation, they had been making changes and figuring out how to run a hospital. Jackson was busier than ever and she hardly saw him, even at their apartment, but she knew he was trying his best to make time for her.

"So…how is Baby Sloan?" April asked to break the silence that had settled over them while they worked.

Lexie smiled and pulled out a sonogram to show her. "Perfect and healthy. I'm about nine weeks and my due date is in October."

"That's so exciting!" April loved babies and was excited for Lexie and Mark. "Have you guys found a new car yet?"

"We're looking for one, but just haven't had time to actually shop. Mark wants to take me this weekend though."

"Is he excited?"

"You have no idea," Lexie laughed and shook her head. "When I told him I was pregnant, he kissed me so hard I was fuzzy from it. And he went out to buy a onesie for the baby the very same day."

"That's cute!" April knew she was a ways off from having a baby, but she loved seeing her friends become moms and watching that journey happen.

"How are you and Jackson? Still going to the carnival?" The brunette smirked and winked at her.

"We…yeah," she replied, knowing she couldn't lie about that. The sex was amazing and April was having so much fun with Jackson, trying new things and exploring things she never thought she would explore with someone before marriage. It was like having sugar for the first time, feeling that rush, but then coming down from it and wanting more. "But I feel so guilty! We're using each other for sex and that's wrong."

"Do you want it to be more than just sex?" Lexie asked, coming over to sit down.

"Yes…no…I don't know," she sighed in defeat. "I feel like he wouldn't want more. But then again, I don't know because everything is so jumbled up and confusing because of this buyout, Jackson working all the time, and me getting ready to reopen the trauma center."

"You'll never know until you ask."

Lexie had a point. She and Jackson didn't really talk much these days. If they had any spare time together, it was spent having sex or sleeping. And that was the confusing thing for April as she didn't know what it meant or what they were. They had separate rooms at the apartment, but she didn't always make him go to his room after sex anymore, yet he didn't hold her. All of the mixed signals were driving her nuts. But the sex was amazing and full of passion, which was what made it even harder for her to say no to him because they had so much chemistry there.

But they also had chemistry as best friends too. Jackson was always so easy to talk to, laugh with, and connect with, even when they were at Mercy West together. And after losing their only friends that came over with them in the merger, they bonded even more, to the point where Jackson stood up to Alex for her and punched him. However, she didn't know where it all blended together to make a relationship or if it even would.

When she was done with the trauma center, she changed her clothes and made her way home to study for her boards, which she was retaking in less than two months. She changed into her yoga pants and t-shirt when she got home and curled up on the couch, getting her flash cards out. The information she studied was a good distraction for her as she was lost in the world of medicine for a little while. When the door opened a while later, she glanced up to see Jackson coming in.

"Hey…how was your day?" she asked, moving her study materials aside.

"Long…I didn't even see the inside of an OR today because I was in meetings literally all day long," he said, plopping down beside her. "What about you?"

"Lexie and I were getting the trauma center ready to reopen tomorrow, so not incredibly busy either. Now I'm just studying for the boards." It wasn't all exciting stuff either, but she knew that it had to be done on both fronts because tomorrow they would be a level one trauma center again.

"You're going to do great," he said, yawning with a smile.

He always had such faith in her abilities as a doctor, even when they were just friends and they had transferred over from Mercy West to here. They were two peas in a pod after Reed and Charles died, leaving them the last of their group from Mercy West that had transferred to Seattle Grace in the surgical program, which was sad and kind of crazy at the same time. But they had held their own and were part of the family here now, which made her happy.

"Jackson…can we talk?" she asked hesitantly after a while.

"We are talking," he countered, leaning over and kissing her neck.

Pressing her hand to his chest, she stopped him because she knew if she let him continue…she would never get this out and it would keep building on her own chest. "I mean really talk."

"Okay, what's on your mind?" He didn't hide his disappointment from her stopping him cold turkey.

"I…I know you prefer your hookups to be uncomplicated and…well I…"

"April," he interrupted.

"What?" she asked, her train of thought disturbed completely.

"You're acting like I don't have feelings or that I don't care!" he said firmly, looking at her. "But I have a lot of feelings."

"For what?" she asked in exasperation.

"For you! April, for you!" he replied, his voice rising loud enough so she could hear him over herself.

"Oh…" she said, the realization settling in that he was telling her that he had feelings for her. "Jackson…I…"

He looked at her as she looked at him, her eyes wide and in shock. No one had ever made a confession to her like this before and she was still reeling as she was putting into place what everything meant.

"I didn't know…I thought we…that it was just sex," she admitted, looking down at her hands, embarrassed.

"Me too. I thought that it was and pretended it was, but it's not like that anymore," he went on. "So I'm telling you that I have feelings for you."

"I…" she stopped, fear gripping her again. No one had wanted her before Jackson – not like this. But he was opposite of everything she had thought she would find in a man, except for two things: he was a good man and he cared for her in a way that made her heart flutter.

"I have feelings for you too,: she finally admitted, pushing her anxiety and fear aside as she looked up at him. April had never been so forthcoming with her feelings before for anyone else, but Jackson wasn't just anyone.

He smiled and reached over to cup her cheek. "So…are we…?"

"Are we?" she asked, biting her lip.

"I don't want to be with anyone else," he said firmly. "And the thought of you being with anyone else – I don't want that. I'm a jealous man."

She grinned brightly. "I'm you girl."

"My girl," he repeated with a smile before leaning over to kiss her.

"Does this mean we're gonna go on real dates?" she asked as she broke their kiss and looked in his eyes. The idea of going out on real dates with her boyfriend excited April, even if their dates were few and far between because of their work schedules now that they were attending doctors and Jackson was on the board.

"Yeah…we'll go on real dates and tell people we're together," he reassured her.

April laughed and licked her lips. "I don't think anyone will be surprised. They all know we…"

"Sloan figured it out after the boards – you know how he is though," Jackson laughed, shaking his head.

"Lexie knows," April added. "I told her about the boards last year and she figured out what we did at their wedding…"

"She did?" Jackson seemed shocked and kind of amused at the same time as he looked at her.

Her cheeks flushed dark red as she covered her face with her hands. "God…I was flustered and she…she point-blank asked me if we had slutty wedding sex. I couldn't exactly lie to her…"

Jackson laughed and moved her hands from her face. She opened her eyes and looked at him This perfect man was all hers and she couldn't believe how lucky she was to be his girlfriend now, officially. Even if she did get flustered, embarrassed, and a little secretive about her sex life, she knew that she wanted him all to herself and never wanted to share him with anyone else because she loved him.

"That wasn't slutty wedding sex," he insisted. "Sex with you isn't slutty at all, April. What we have is special, okay?"

Cupping his cheeks, April kissed him again and smiled.

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**A/N: Thank you all again for your reviews and feedback! I even got a review from my favorite Japril author (Hidge) and it seriously made my day! I hope you guys are enjoying and please let me know your thoughts!**


	13. God Damn You're Beautiful

**A/N: There be M material in this chapter...just a warning! ;)**

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"Jackson, hurry up in there before you use all the hot water!" April shouted as she stood outside the shower stall. Jackson had woke up earlier than her and jumped in the shower, so she was waiting for him to get out.

He peeked out. "You could always join me…save water and all that."

"Yeah…you and I both know how that would end," she scoffed with a laugh. "We can't be late and you have a board meeting this morning."

"Damn – it was worth a try," he pouted. "Not even a quickie in the shower?"

Leaning over, she kissed him. "Nope, you need to get ready and I need to shower before I get ready. Today is a big day for both of us."

Hearing him groan, she watched him duck back in the shower before he got out and wrapped a towel around his waist. April slipped her robe off and got in the shower quickly. The hot water felt amazing over her body as she washed her face and started to shampoo her hair. She could smell the lingering scent of Jackson's body wash in the stall and smiled. They had been a couple officially for a week and she couldn't have been happier.

"Is my toothbrush in there?" Jackson called from outside the stall.

April looked around and grabbed it. "Yeah here it is…" she said, opening the stall to hand it to him, only to see her very naked boyfriend standing there. "You…you did that on purpose!"

He smirked proudly. "I may have…"

April reached over and grabbed his hand to bring him into the shower with her. Her hands moved up to his face as she cupped it and kissed him passionately, his hands roaming over her body slowly. He backed her up to the closest wall of the shower as they kissed. The cold tiles hit her back, causing her to shiver and gasp softly.

"We…no condom…" she uttered, her thoughts all over the place right now, but conscious enough to remember protection.

Jackson grinned and held up one. "I came prepared this time."

Ripping it open, April rolled it on him and hooked her leg on his hip as she moved against the wall again. He kissed her neck and rolled into her slowly, making her moan loudly in the shower as he filled her completely. Every time felt amazing to April as Jackson attended to her needs and made her feel special. He knew all the right places to kiss and touch to make her come undone quicker than she could have ever imagined possible.

Lifting her second leg, Jackson pinned her to the wall and thrust deeper as her lips found their way to his and kissed him hungrily. Their tongues danced as she gasped and moaned into his mouth, feeling his thrusts go deeper and harder into her. As a virgin, she had been so sensitive to things, but she had grown used to the feeling of Jackson being inside of her and craved it now more than ever. Their lovemaking came to a passionate and sudden end when April threw her head back and came hard, screaming his name. He followed soon after and they panted hard as he held her up and kissed her softly, taking his time before setting her down and pulling out.

"That was…" she said, her thoughts fuzzy and incoherent still.

"Phenomenal…" he said, kissing her neck. "Finish your shower…and we can go…save lives."

April laughed as he slipped out and she was able to finish showering, pleasantly buzzing from her round with Jackson. Shower sex was one of her new favorite things as of now…and she knew that it wouldn't be the last time that they did this if Jackson had his way.

When they were ready to go, they made their way up to the hospital. Jackson went off to his meting while April went to the trauma center to do her morning rounds. A mild trauma came in, but April was able to delegate to the residents and interns so they could learn how to properly stitch up patients with minor injuries. Teaching was a passion she had and most of the interns were finally coming around to her methods.

"Someone needs to tell the damn board that the NICU needs new incubators," Alex grunted as he came to the desk in the trauma center. "This is the third one this month that's gone out completely."

"They're doing the best they can with everything being crazy right now, Karev," she said, knowing that this was a huge transitional time for all of the departments.

"Oh shut up. You're banging the head honcho, so you get whatever the hell you want easily," he shot back.

April glared. Two could play that game. "Dr. Robbins is also on the board, so I'm sure your needs will be heard since she's also the head of Peds."

"Yeah, yeah…" he trailed off and tapped the screen on his tablet. "So you and Avery…that's a thing now?"

"If by 'thing' you mean relationship, then yes it is," she replied, ignoring his crass nature as usual. She'd grown used to her little banters with Alex and had come to appreciate them even because she knew he wasn't such the jackass he made himself to be.

"So you guys bang last year at the boards and now you're together?"

April looked at him and scrunched her eyebrows, shaking her head. "How do people tolerate you?"

"They just do – like they tolerate you," he shrugged. "Don't you have some studying to do for your boards, flunkie? Or Avery to go find and bang?"

"Go suck face with some intern," she quipped as she walked away.

This was progress with Alex Karev, sort of.

Going about her day, April scrubbed in twice before going to an on-call room to take a break and study a little more for her boards. Callie had been teaching her the Torres method and boosting her confidence about retaking them in a few weeks. While she read through her flash cards, she sipped some coffee and just allowed the information to seep into her mind.

"Studying hard or hardly studying?" Lexie asked as she came in.

"Studying as much as I can, when I can," she sighed. "You're lucky to have a photographic memory, Lexie. So lucky."

"It's a curse too," her friend said, sitting beside her. "Remember when you guys short circuited me last year while you were all studying?"

April laughed at the memory. "Yeah…I'm sorry about that."

Lexie waved it off. "No big deal. It was bound to happen sooner or later, so yeah."

Everyone in the hospital knew that Lexie had a photographic memory that was legendary for its accuracy. April had taken advantage of it a time or two herself, but never like Alex had. Now it was just fun to test Lexie now and then to see if she remembered literally everything she ever read or saw.

"So you and Jackson?" Lexie asked after a lull of silence between the two of them.

She nodded in affirmation. "We've been together a week. And um…he moved in. Well…he was already living there, but we share a room now and…yeah."

"That's really great," Lexie grinned. "Are you happy?"

"I am – he's great and so…wonderful as a boyfriend," she said, blushing a bit. "I guess you already knew that since you guys were…um, involved before."

April remembered when Jackson and Lexie were dating and how they had been all over the place every single time she walked in. Back then, she didn't really think of Jackson like that, at least not seriously since he was her best friend, but now…now he was the one that she wanted to be with and the one that she cared about more than anyone else she'd ever cared about before. And it was a little weird to think that Lexie had slept with her boyfriend too, even though that was a different time and a different place.

"It's different…but I get that's awkward though."

:Well you've seen my boyfriend naked and um…yeah," April said, laughing nervously.

"I don't think of him that way at all anymore!" Lexie insisted with a laugh. "I'm married now and totally in love with Mark. And Jackson…the way he looks at you is exactly the way Mark looks at me."

The two women fell into silence before they looked at one another and began to laugh. April knew that even with Lexie's history with Jackson, she and Jackson had so much more history because of their friendship. Five years had built up the trust between them so that April felt safe giving him her virginity at the boards. And in the year since, she spent her time really pondering the crisis of her faith that followed because she had been holding out for her husband. But Jackson had been there when she lost her best friend, Reed. And he had protected her when she needed it, so she knew that there was so much more there.

While the guilt was still there for having premarital sex, she knew that it wasn't so bad now because she could see herself marrying Jackson…someday in the future when they were both ready to take that step. And she could see the future with him, building a life together, which was something she had been scared to consider before because Jackson was gorgeous, an Avery, and lived such a different life than her. Now they were a couple and things were moving forward, but she knew that they still had a long ways to go.

"Have you and Mark told anyone else yet?" she asked when they settled down from their laughter after a few moments.

"Well…we haven't told anyone else yet, aside from Mark blabbing to Callie because he was so excited the day we had our sonogram," Lexie replied. "Baby Sloan is ten weeks and two days, but so far everything is perfect. We want to wait until I'm in my second trimester to tell anyone else, even my sisters."

"Well congrats again and I'm really happy for you guys," she replied genuinely.

"Do you think we'll have any little Avery babies running around here in the future?" Lexie asked, nudging April's side playfully.

"Well…I don't know," April replied bashfully. "I mean, I would…really love that someday, but I don't think Jackson and I are anywhere near ready for it."

Lexie nodded. "Neither was I, but I think that this timed out pretty well since I'll be a first year fellow when the baby comes for Mark and I. Take your time and enjoy dating first because that's the fun part."

The idea of having children with Jackson had never really occurred to April until now, but when she thought about it, having a baby with Jackson's beautiful eyes and his smile…it was something she wanted, someday. She wanted to be married and settled first, but that was a ways off for her and Jackson.

"I think I want to wait and see where things go before I think about babies," she laughed, shaking her head.

Lexie nodded and smiled, getting up. "Well I'll let you get back to studying. Page me if you want someone to run some flash cards with."

April went back to work, going over the cards again and again a few more times before she couldn't focus anymore. Coffee would probably help and it'd been a few hours since she ate anything, so she figured food couldn't hurt either as she got up and put her cards away, taking her bag out as she walked out of the on-call room before running into someone.

"Oh excuse me, I…" she stopped cold as she saw who it was.

"Oh hello baby!" Can you tell me where my son is?" Catherine Avery asked.

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**A/N: Mwhahaha cliffhanger. I love you all so much for your continued support, darlings!**


	14. In My Veins

"Dr…Dr. Avery!" she gushed in surprise as she realized Jackson's mother was standing right in front of her. "I think Jackson is actually in surgery right now."

"Oh rats, I was hoping to catch him before," Catherine sighed. "Keep me company dear?"

April hesitated, not knowing what she would talk about. Especially since she seemed obsessed with getting April laid as of late.

"Uh sure, I was just about to go get some coffee and take a break from studying for my boards," she said, walking down the hall with Jackson's mother.

"Oh how is that coming along? Are you nervous?" the older woman asked.

"A little since I failed the first time, but Dr. Torres has been helping me study this time around," she explained while they walked. Having someone mentor her who had passed the boards with flying colors really was helping as it eased some of her anxieties about taking this test again for the second time.

"That's wonderful – you should ace them this time around. I always told Jackson that you were a talented surgeon and had a lot of potential."

April was flattered as they reached the coffee cart and got some coffee. She didn't receive compliments often and when she did, they always took her by surprise from people like Catherine Avery, who was well known in the surgical world and respected by so many people, not just for her talent, but because of the family she was a part of.

"Th-thank you, Dr. Avery – that means a lot to me," she said, smiling a little.

"You're a bright young woman with a great future in medicine, so get out there and take life by the balls, so to speak."

The word choice made April blush as she coughed and sat down with her coffee at one of the nearby tables. Though she and Jackson had been sexually active for some time now, any type of innuendos still made her uncomfortable and feel awkward around other people who talked about sex so frankly.

"I'll…I'll keep that in mind," she stuttered.

"Are you still a virgin, baby?" Catherine asked bluntly, sipping her own drink and catching April off-guard with her question.

April froze and choked on her latte before putting it down to whip herself off from the mess. This conversation was going in a direction she wasn't comfortable with because the one man she had slept with and was still sleeping with was Catherine's son. And that just made things even more awkward than they already were. Right now, she felt about three inches tall and wanted to disappear from the planet.

"Honey, you need to get laid," Catherine chuckled. "It's invigorating and will loosen you right up. Sex is amazing and can change your whole life, no matter your age. I've been having the best sex I've had in years!"

"I uh…I've been really busy and studying," she muttered, blushing harder.

A snort came from the table close by as April looked over to see Cristina nursing a coffee of her own. "Yeah…you've been busy alright, Kepner."

The heat in April's face went up about a thousand degrees as soon as the words left Cristina's mouth and registered with the elder Avery across from her. A huge smile crossed Catherine's lips and April knew that she was done for.

"So you have tasted the forbidden fruit! Well good for you, baby. Did he treat you right?"

The last thing April wanted was to discuss her sex life with Jackson's mother when she had been having sex with him for weeks – well technically since last year at the boards, though they hadn't been active again until Lexie and Mark's wedding in January. But she knew she couldn't get out of this conversation, all thanks to Cristina and her big mouth.

"He…he was extremely wonderful," April admitted, glaring at Cristina to keep her mouth shut about any other details that she might blab out to Catherine Avery. "And someone I trust."

"Well that is great, honey," Catherine praised. "It's always important to be with someone you trust, especially that first time."

"Oh – she trusts him," Cristina snorted, seemingly charmed by this entire conversation and the fact that April was squirming now. "You could even say that they're bff's."

"Do I know him?"

"You could say that," Cristina smirked.

"Have you seen the new trauma center?" April interjected, hoping to spare herself the embarrassment of this conversation going to the one place she didn't want it to go to right now, especially with Jackson not here.

Catherine looked at her as the topic attempted to change. "Baby, sex is nothing to be ashamed of at all! Who was the lucky man?"

She blushed and began to stutter. "Well…it's…he…"

"Oh for Pete's sake, you and Pretty Boy have been at each other since he got back here," Cristina scoffed.

That comment was enough to make April want to kill Cristina. Her face was drained of all the blood in it and she couldn't find any words to say right now. Mortified didn't begin to cover how she felt right now, on top of scared for how Catherine was going to react to finding out that she was sleeping with her son.

"Wait…are you and Jackson…" Catherine was putting the pieces together and figuring it out. "He was your first?"

Red-faced, April could only nod.

"I could kill that boy!" the elder woman said gruffly as she huffed. "Did he talk you into it or charm you?"

"No! God no…I was the one…" she stopped and glanced at her hands. "I wanted to…and Jackson…he cares for me…we…"

Catherine's face softened as she smiled a little and calmed down. "You love him," she concluded for April.

All she could do was nod. "We're together now…a couple…"

"Baby, I am happy for both of you. I always hoped my son would be with someone more like you," Catherine admitted.

"Like m-me?" April wasn't sure what qualities that she had that any mother would want for her son to have in a girlfriend. She was shy, stuttered when she was nervous, and didn't know what the hell she was doing in a relationship half the time because she was so inexperienced.

"Someone kind, caring, intelligent, and with a personality that can keep my boy on his toes all the time," she explained. "And above all, someone who loves my son."

That comment really touched April as she had not expected his mother to approve so easily of their relationship. He had come from a prominent family where every surgeon in the country knew who his grandfather was. But he had always been just Jackson to her since their intern year at Mercy West. Names and prominence meant nothing to her and that was how she had always been since she was young.

"So tell me…was he gentle? Because if he wasn't and he hurt you…"

"God no…he was…" April stammered, blushing again. "He was very caring."

"Good…now are you using protection? Because I know you don't want any baby Avery's too soon, though I wouldn't mind grandbabies running around," Catherine laughed.

April felt herself shrinking down again to about six inches tall. She did not want to talk about her sex life with her boyfriend's mother. And Catherine was already obsessed with her sex life, or lack thereof, when she had been a virgin. But she hoped that it would afford her more privacy now that Catherine knew she was in a happy relationship, but that didn't change one thing apparently.

"Baby don't be embarrassed! Sex is natural and part of life, so enjoy it but just be careful," Catherine said with a smile.

"Okay…I um…I should help Hunt get the trauma center ready for the night shift," she said quickly before excusing herself and dumping her coffee before going to the trauma center, trying to shake off the shivers that she had from that entire conversation.

On the surgical floor, Jackson was coming out of a rhinoplasty that had ran longer than anticipated, but he was in a great mood despite that fact. He knew that he and April were going to dinner later on tonight and that they would have some fun later at the apartment, which he was looking forward to.

"Check her post-op in about fifteen minutes," he told his third year resident as they reached the nurses' station.

"Baby boy!" an all too familiar voice called out.

He turned to see it wasn't a dream. "Mom, what are you doing here?"

Can't I come visit my baby without the third degree?" his mother quipped as she came over.

Sighing, he put the chart down. "You usually have another reason to fly all the way to Seattle to see me."

"I'm here to consult on an interesting case, so work and personal business," she replied cooly. "Now why didn't you tell me that you and April were together?"

And just like that, Jackson felt the world stop as he realized that his mother knew that he and April were a thing. And if she knew, then he knew that there was no doubt in his mind that she knew that they were having sex too…his mother just knew things like that and got information from anyone that would tell her what was going on with him. It'd been that way since he was in high school.

"Mom, my private life is private," he reminded her, knowing that line wouldn't work but it was worth a shot at this point.

"You took that sweet girl's virginity, Jackson Avery," she said sternly, wagging her finger at him. "Now she said that you didn't charm her into it, but I want to hear it from the horse's mouth, so tell me the truth. And don't you dare lie to your mother."

He knew that lying to her was futile and that if he ever did lie to her, she would find out. That was something he had learned the hard way when he was growing up. He prided himself on being an honest person to a fault anyway, so lying to his own mother wasn't something he could or would do, no matter the circumstances.

"I did not charm her into bed with me," he said, keeping his voice down so that the other residents and attendings didn't hear the conversation. "We are adults and we made a decision, together, and it happened. And now we're a couple, so there's nothing more for you to pry into because that's all you need to know."

"Good…because I know I raised you better than that," she said, seemingly satisfied with her son's answer. "Now tell me, are you two getting serious?"

Now it was going to be a game of twenty questions about his relationship that he didn't want to answer with his mother because his and April's relationship was between them and no one else, even his crazy mom. But he knew that if he didn't answer her questions, at least to some extent that would appease her, then she would persist and probably go to April for the answers. And he didn't want to let April deal with his mother just yet, especially when their relationship was so new.

"We haven't been together long, Mom, but we live together and I'm happy…we're happy," he said, smiling a little. "She was the first friend I made at Mercy West and the only one of them left here with me…so I really care about her."

Catherine smiled. "I'm happy for you, baby boy," she said genuinely. "April Kepner is what every mother dreams for her son to find. She's a kind girl with a good heart…now don't you go breaking that heart or else I'll have your hide."

A threat and a confirmation of approval in the same sentence…no one else could do that like his own mother. But he was thankful that she approved of his life with April because it meant that she might actually respect some of their privacy. At least he hoped it meant that she would try to at least.

"I won't hurt her…not if I can ever help it," he vowed, nodding in affirmation of that promise. He loved April, though he hadn't said it out loud yet, he knew that the feelings were there and he just didn't know how to express them yet since Avery's notoriously didn't express how they felt. Even his own mom, who had married into the Avery family and kept her married name even after his father left, had difficulty expressing her feelings, so Jackson knew he wasn't the only one.

"This one is special, baby, so don't let her get away," Catherine told him, smiling. "Now, tell me where Dr. Webber is. I'm supposed to be consulting on a case today and I need him to get Chief Hunt to approve some privileges for me."

Jackson send his mother off in the direction he had last seen Webber, shaking off the feeling it was more than just a professional visit for her. He tried not to think about it too much as he finished up on the surgical floor and began to head home, knowing he was supposed to meet April there for dinner and a semi-date night with pizza and some movies. And if he was thinking correctly, April knew his mother was here already…how else would she have known about their relationship?

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**A/N: Thank you all for your continued support! I really do appreciate/love all of you dedicated reader and reviewers! I read every single review that comes in and it makes my day!**


	15. Unconditionally

"Jackson…your mother knows we have sex! God, I can't look at her anymore without blushing! And you don't even want to know the questions she asked me!" April was pacing the living room of their apartment and had since before Jackson got home.

"I know, but I made her promise to keep out of our personal life," he insisted running his hand along his neck in frustration. They had been going at this conversation for near ten minutes already.

"The whole world knows now and I…"

"What? Is it that bad to be involved with me?!" he snapped, causing April to pause her pacing and really look at him for the first time since he came home. He seemed just as tense as she was about this whole thing and she knew that he had grown up with Catherine Avery prying into his life.

"No…it's not bad being with you, Jackson. I…I love being with you, but everyone knew me as the Virgin Mary. And I'm…it's taking some time to adjust to all of this," she said, looking down at her feet. "I've never been someone's girlfriend…not like this, not seriously. People never liked me or thought I was too annoying."

"Hey, look at me," he said gently, lifting her chin up with his finger so their eyes met.

April looked up into his beautiful eyes and relaxed a little. They always reminded her of the ocean, which was something that calmed her down when she was spiraling out of control or fearing the worst in something.

"This is _me and you_," he said. "What we have isn't anyone else's business, even my crazy, meddling mom."

Her nerves were calming a bit. "I love that. Just me and you."

Leaning up, she kissed him tenderly and wrapped her arms around his neck. Somehow, Jackson always knew what to say and do when she needed to feel better, even if they were bickering and fighting about something stupid. He always shut down her freak-outs and made her feel a hundred times better. That was something he'd always been good at, even when they were just friends a long time ago. Their friendship had taught her a lot about Jackson too, like his obsession with Nike sneakers and that his favorite color was red, which was why he loved her red hair. And she knew that he had a harder time explaining how he felt, but she understood that.

"I'm sorry I'm so crazy," she apologized, looking at him. "I just have never really had something like this before and it's all new to me."

In her younger years, April hadn't had boyfriends because most guys really didn't notice her. And then she was focused on her studies in college and medical school, so there was really no time for her to date. Residency was much the same in that she didn't have time and didn't really have anyone interested enough to ask her. She'd never really had a relationship like this one and sometimes she wondered what Jackson saw in her to begin with.

"It's a new relationship," he said gently. "And we have to adjust to it and to people knowing that we're together."

Nodding, she kissed him softly. "Your mother seemed happy that we're together though," she added, smiling a bit.

"I think you're the first woman I've ever been with that doesn't need her approval since you already have it from her," he said, smiling as he held her head in his hands.

"I'm glad she like me…even if I did ruin that one dorsal vein in the surgery from fifth year," she said, wrapping her arms around Jackson's waist. That was one memory she wished she could forget and live down because of how embarrassing it was.

"Well despite that, she always has liked you," he told her with a grin. "Don't be surprised if she starts calling your phone to get to me now."

April laughed. "Just as long as she stays out of our sex lives," she added seriously.

"Deal," he laughed and kissed her.

* * *

The weeks after Jackson's mother came to town flew by, pushing them into the middle of Spring. Lexie officially announced her pregnancy, much to no one's surprise, but they were all happy for her and Mark. And April officially retook her boards the same weekend that Lexie took hers for the first time, but the results had yet to come in, which was making her nervous.

"Nothing yet?" Jackson asked, coming up behind her at the nurses' station.

She sighed. "No – but I think that if you fail twice, they don't even bother with the pity e-mail since you get it the first time."

"I'm sure you passed," he said, resting his hand on her lower back. "We made suer you were plenty relaxed before you went."

"Jackson!" she chided, flushed and appalled that he was so candid about that in the open. Then again, this was Jackson.

"What? You and I both know it relaxes us both and we focus better after."

She couldn't deny that. Sex always had a way of relaxing her when she was tense and worried about a hundred things at once. And Jackson was very good at what he did in bed. They had been officially dating for over a month now and she was happier than ever, so she knew that Jackson was likely right.

"What if I didn't pass again, Jackson?" she asked, worried that her fears would come true, despite his reassurances. "What if I'm doomed to fail this test over and over again and never…"

"That doesn't make you any less of a surgeon," he replied, cutting her off effectively. "You kick ass in trauma every single day and you're an amazing teacher. One test does not define you as the doctor you already are."

She smiled a little and leaned over to peck his lips. "You always know how to make me feel better."

"It's what boyfriends do," he said, chuckling. "Now I've got a rhinoplasty in an hour, but come find me when you get your results."

She nodded and watched him go before she got ready for an incoming trauma. A four car pile-up brought in a lot of broken bones, concussions, and a few serious injuries that were more surgical. April scrubbed in with Bailey on a kidney removal, which turned into a spleenectomy as well. They worked for three hours to control bleeders before they were able to close up and scrub out.

"Good job in there, Kepner," Bailey complimented while they were coming out.

"Oh…thank you, Dr. Bailey," she gushed, surprised. "It's always a pleasure to scrub in with you."

"Don't suck up to me – just take the compliment."

"Yes…yes ma'am."

April cleaned up and informed the patient's family what happened and that he was in recovery now. She went back to the trauma center and found an on-call room to go lay down for a while. Her phone was in her hand as she laid down and began to wait again, dozing off every few minutes as she was exhausted. The door opened about twenty minutes later and Jackson came inside.

Her phone buzzed.

"Oh my God," she said, sitting up and looking at who the e-mail was from. "Jackson…it's here. They sent the notice."

He came over and sat down beside her. "I'm right here."

April took his hand and shakily opened her e-mail, gasping when she read it. She jumped up and threw her hands up in the air in victory.

"I passed!" she cried, turning to Jackson as he stood up with her.

"I knew you would," he said, grinning proudly.

Throwing her arms around him, she kissed him soundly as he lifted her up and spun her around in the room. Laughter filled the air as they spun and April felt incredibly relieved now as she moved to kiss Jackson again. She was now a board certified surgeon, which felt amazing. It was as though she had finally crossed that finish line that she had been running toward and got pushed off course last year. But she was finally on it again and had made it to the finish line.

"I am…I feel like I'm on top of the world," she breathed as Jackson set her on her feet again.

"Now you can choose…a fellowship," he said. "Go anywhere you want…anywhere your heart desires."

That had been on her mind lately and she knew it was on Jackson's too, but him being selfless about letting her go wherever she wanted told her right where she wanted to be and where she always wanted to be.

Her palms touched his cheeks. "I'm right where I want to be. Hunt already offered me everything I wanted for a fellowship…and the new trauma center to run doesn't hurt either."

Jackson laughed and kissed her again. "I'm so proud of you."

"Now I can move forward with my career and not feel so behind," she said. "I wonder if Lexie got her results yet."

"Probably and if I know Shepherd, he already made the hospital make the offer to keep her here," Jackson said, chuckling.

"She chose Neuro," April mused, knowing that was no surprise since she had been spending most of her fifth year in Neuro with Derek, between her other surgeries for the hours she was required to have.

"Now we're all attendings and fellows…feels weird," he laughed.

April kissed him again and smiled. She needed to tell her family soon and let them know of her decision to accept the fellowship in Seattle. There was also the matter of her relationship with Jackson. No one back home knew that they were together yet and she hadn't had the chance to tell them either with her crazy schedule and the boards. Her sister Alice would be keen enough to pick up on that right away when she spoke with them, as would Libby and Kimmie. There were few secrets among the Kepner sisters. Once one knew, they all knew.

"We should celebrate," he said, breaking their kiss. "Pick anywhere you want to go and we'll go to dinner."

She smiled. "You are very sweet…can we plan for tomorrow night since I'm working overnight tonight in the trauma center?"

He nodded. "We can go anytime you want."

Giving hime one more quick kiss, April left to go check the trauma center. The beds were being cleaned and remade for the incoming patients, so she took a tablet and check on a few of the patients who came in earlier. She had a whole new air of confidence, which reflected as she assigned residents to their services for the night shift when they reported to her about an hour later.

"Dr. Kepner?"

"Yes, Dr. Brooks?" she asked in reply, looking up.

"You didn't give me an assignment," the younger doctor said meekly.

"I know," she said. "You're helping me run the trauma center tonight. Are you prepared for that?"

Heather nodded. "I'm quick on my feet and learn fast."

"Good. It's a Friday night, so prepare for chaos," she warned. "People tend to drink way more than they should and there's several college campuses close by and it's near finals, so prepare for a lot of DWI, DUI, and alcohol poisoning cases. Make sure the banana bags are stocked and that we have suture kits for the minor injuries."

* * *

Just as April had warned, the trauma center exploded with activity after the sun went down. April was pulled into four surgeries, two that ended when the patients died on the table from bleeding out. The hardest was a two-year-old little boy who died because his drunk aunt neglected to strap him into his car seat correctly. April had to compose herself before she and Arizona delivered the news. The parents were devastated and angry since they had trusted the aunt with their child while they had gone out on a date night. Cases like that were always hard, but she got through it.

By the end of the night, she was drained emotionally and physically. She came home and crawled into bed with Jackson. Moving into his arms, she laid on his chest, breathing easy for the first time all night. She was home.

* * *

**A/N: Woo another chapter within a week! Thank you all for your wonderful support and please let me know how you're liking the story so far! I try to pace it at a good speed, but sometimes I fail...  
**


	16. Better Than I Know Myself

Passing her boards proved to be something that boosted April's confidence even more as she took the fellowship position at Seattle Grace-Mercy West Hospital. She felt like she had finally made it and was a well-respected surgeon among her peers, though she had started feeling that way a little before the boards since the interns all knew that she would actually teach them rather than treat them like crap. But having passed her boards, it just boosted her confidence a little more and made her feel equal again with Jackson, Meredith, Cristina, and the others that were actually in her year.

After the results came in, she was able to actually relax and really enjoy her birthday, which came at the end of April. Jackson had actually remembered this year and made sure that she had an amazing birthday, albeit at the very end of a crazy day in the trauma center that ended with both of them in the OR nearly all day long. But he was romantic, in his own way, by bringing her a red rose and giving her a very special necklace with her birthstone inside. After that, the two of them crashed in their bed, April holding onto Jackson while she slept.

The weeks kept pressing on into May and her relationship with Jackson blossomed even more as they were living together and figuring out how to be a couple and best friends at the same time, which was why she knew it was time to tell her family that she and Jackson were official. But she knew what was going to happen the minute she told any of her sisters…and she dreaded losing half of her hearing to their shrills on the phone.

"Wait…you and Dr. Pretty Eyes are official?!" Alice screeched, making April pull the phone away from her ear and grimace.

April had put off this conversation long enough with her family. She and Jackson had started dating officially in March, so she knew that two months was long enough to wait to tell her family that she had a boyfriend. However, in retrospect, starting with Alice was probably not the best idea in the world.

"Yes, we're dating Alice," she replied calmly. "We started dating in March, actually."

"So that's why you chose to stay after passing your boards," her youngest sister said in a knowing tone.

"Well…sort of," she admitted sheepishly. "Dr. Hunt offered me the salary I wanted and the new trauma center to run. And I really like it here…so there are other reasons to stay too."

"So…how is Dr. McSexy?" Alice asked teasingly.

"Jackson is fine, but buys with board meetings and surgery today," she explained, ignoring her sister's nickname for her boyfriend while she sat down on the bed. "Today is my day off, actually."

"Ah…the boyfriend's working on your day off…bummer," Alice giggled on the other end. Sometimes her twenty-two year old sister could be so immature and then switch it off like a freaking light the next moment.

April rolled her eyes. "Yeah – he's in the OR right now and won't be home for a while."

"Have you told Mom and Dad yet that you're dating?" her youngest sister inquired.

"Not yet, but I'm going to when I call them here in a little bit. I know Mom is going to ask me about a hundred questions about possibly meeting him soon, but you all know how crazy my schedule is…so multiply that by two since Jackson is a surgeon too."

"Oh you know they'll love him," Alice insisted. "From everything you've ever told me about him, he's a pretty amazing guy."

That was very true in April's mind and she couldn't even argue with it. Jackson was a great boyfriend and always cared for her when she needed someone to look after her or calm her down when she was spiraling out of control during one of her moments. He was her best friend and the one person she could literally tell everything to.

"He really is and I'm happy, so I hope they really love him," she said.

"Well I'm sure he already has a good foot in the door since he's a doctor, but don't tell them he took your virginity," Alice warned with a laugh on the other end of the line.

"Alice Janine Kepner!" April gasped, shaking her head. "I'm not telling them anything about my sex life, period."

"Well make sure Kimmie and Libby keep their big mouths shut and that they don't blab - "

Alice's voice was interrupted by the door opening as Jackson came in, walking up behind April to kiss her neck. She hadn't been expecting him for another three or four more hours, so this was a welcomed surprise.

"Alice…I'll have to call you back," she said before hanging up and tossing her phone on the bed. She tilted her neck and moaned softly as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "What are you doing home so early?"

"Mm my surgery got out early and the burn center was too slow," he murmured near her ear.

Turning around, she kissed him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He had a little bit of scruff on his face, which April found incredibly sexy. She always thought that when Jackson forgot to shave made him look more distinguished and a bit of a rogue, which she found to be a turn on for her.

"Well we're both home…and have the night off…" she said between kisses.

"Why don't we go out on a date tonight?" he suggested with a smile.

"Oh I would love that!" she said, cupping his cheeks. The idea of going on a date with her boyfriend was appealing as ever since they didn't have time for that as often as they hoped to. Being doctors was stressful, but at least they both understood and made the time when they could, which was the important thing in April's mind. "What did you have in mind?"

"Maybe a movie…some dinner and walking around downtown Seattle. Lame?"

She shook her head. "Not at all!" she replied, kissing him. "I just need to change before we go since this is not a cute outfit."

Kissing him again, she let go and went to her closet to find some clothes to change into. Finding one of her cuter dresses from the closet, she changed and found a pair of heels to slip into. The dress was knee length and had a v-neck, so she made sure to grab a light sweater to wear as well since it was going to be a little cooler once the sun went down. Coming in the living room, she saw Jackson waiting for her and grabbed her purse.

"You look beautiful," he said, coming over to kiss her and offer her his arm.

"Thank you," she said, taking it as they walked out to his car from their apartment.

They left and went to the theater that was near their apartment, deciding to see one of the new comedy movies that was out. No one was in their theater during the movie, so they took advantage and made out like teenagers while April sat in Jackson's lap. Even though she didn't remember much of the movie, she remembered all the kissing and giggles from making out with her boyfriend.

"We're so bad!" she laughed, walking out with Jackson when the movie was over and the credits had rolled.

"But it was so much fun," he said, pulling her in for a kiss.

"Mmm it was," she agreed against his lips. "Now for dinner?"

Jackson nodded and lead her away from the theater to one of their favorite places nearby. It wasn't anything fancy, but April loved it and she was spending time with Jackson and that was all she needed with their crazy schedules. They ate dinner and talked about surgery, the movie they didn't watch, and possibly taking some time off in the summer for a mini-vacation.

"Would you consider…um…going to Ohio with me?" she hesitantly asked.

April really wanted to introduce him to her family and let them meet the man she was falling for more and more. They were her family and their opinions were important to her, especially where dating was concerned.

"Like…to meet your parents?" he asked.

She nodded. "I want my family to meet my boyfriend and get to know you."

"Okay," he said, smiling. "I don't know how that will go since I've never really done the whole 'meet the parents' thing before, but I'll go."

"They will love you," she said, laughing and shaking her head. "You're charming, handsome, intelligent, and successful – everything they wanted for their daughter."

The Kepners were sure to adore Jackson because April was happy and in love for the first time in her thirty-two years of life. Her parents had always worried for her because she was so focused on her career and not dating. But she was in a stable relationship, had an amazing career, and was heading toward the life that she had planned for herself.

"When would you want to go?" he asked. "Your first year of fellowship starts in July and my second year starts then too."

"Maybe we could go in June? Ohio is gorgeous in the summer and we could go to the lake near the farm," she smiled at the thought of going home.

"That sounds perfect," he agreed.

Finishing their meal, they left the restaurant and began walking along the waterfront. It was pretty nice weather, even for Seattle this time of year. April held his arm and walked along happily. He was warm and loving as she stayed close to his side. They kept walking for a while until she got too cold and was forced to return to the car with Jackson.

"It's way too cold to be this time of year," she laughed, shutting the door and rubbing her arms to warm up again.

Jackson chuckled and looked at her. "Give me your hands."

She looked at him curiously for a moment before placing her hands in his. They were warm and comforting as he rubbed them back and forth to warm her up again. Smiling, April relaxed into his touch and looked at him.

"You're the best," she said, leaning over and kissing him.

* * *

**A/N: As always, you guys are the best! Thank you all for your kind words...buckle your seatbelts...the fun is about to begin!**


	17. This Feels Like Falling In Love

Once they decided what weekend they were free, April booked their tickets and told her parents their plan to come visit. Her parents were thrilled about meeting Jackson officially and her mother immediately asked what kind of food to have in the house, which was how she had been all April's life about any guest visiting their home. They also mentioned that all three of her sisters would be home visiting with their families. Alice was also bringing her new boyfriend that she had met in her last semester of college before graduation that was going to medical school with her in the fall, so April was positive that the weekend was going to be one gigantic adventure for all of them.

On the second weekend in June, she and Jackson flew to Ohio and rented a car to drive to her parents' farm from the airport. The entire way there, April was nervous as her leg bounced up and down in the car while Jackson drove.

"Hey…you okay?" he asked, reaching over to take her hand to try and calm her a little.

"Just nervous since this is the first time I've brought home a boyfriend since high school," she laughed humorlessly as she realized how pathetic that sounded.

"It's gonna be fine," he assured her.

"Um…we will probably have separate rooms…my parents are old fashioned and don't know that we…" she said abashedly.

"That's fine…we could always sneak around," he suggested teasingly with a smirk.

"Jackson Avery!" she chided, trying to hide her obvious smile. "You will behave or my dad might kill you."

"Then I'll die a happy man," he joked, pulling off on the famr road to her parents' house.

They pulled up past the white gate, going past the horses as they galloped alongside the car on the other side of the fence. April beamed as she knew she was home. The house was red brick with a white roof and trim, which was pretty typical for a farm, but she loved it in every way for all the memories she had here from her childhood. From the looks of things, she and Jackson were the last to arrive as well. As they parked and got out with their bags, she smiled.

"This is home," she sighed happily. "Everyone must be inside. Libby, Kimmie, and Alice are all here as well as Jonathan, who is Kimmie's husband, Mike, who is Libby's husband, and all the kids. Alice also brought her new boyfriend, Josh, so you're not the only new guy this weekend."

Smiling, she went into the house to hear everyone chattering in the living room.

"I'm home!" she announced loudly.

Her mother was the first to come out and hug her tightly. Karen Kepner was almost the spitting image of April herself with her fiery red hair and vivacious smile. For years, people swore up and down that April was her clone and that she hadn't been born, but created in some lab on the farm, which was their inside joke now.

"Hi Mom!" she greeted as she hugged her back eagerly. "Mom, this is Jackson. Jackson, this is my mom, Karen Kepner."

Karen hugged Jackson and grinned warmly. "Welcome to Ohio. And it's nice to finally meet you."

"You as well, Mrs. Kepner," Jackson said. "April talks so much about her family."

Even though they drove her crazy sometimes, April knew it was true that she loved her family and talked about them quite frequently at home in Seattle. They walked in and greeted everyone else before dinner was on the table in the dining room. April sat down by Jackson on one side and her youngest sister, Alice, on the other. Everyone seemed pretty interested in the newest visitor since April hadn't brought home a guy in so long.

"So, Jackson, you're a surgeon like April?" Kimmie asked from across the table.

"Yes, we actually met when we were interns at Mercy West and transferred over to Seattle Grace together when the hospitals merged," he replied smoothly. "I'm a plastic surgeon, but working on a certification as an ENT as well."

"Oh that sounds pretty intense," Libby added.

"Not as intense as April's specialty in trauma, but it has its moments," he smiled, glancing at April. "Did she tell you guys how she fell into the trauma specialty in the first place?"

"Jackson!" she gasped, knowing how crazy she sounded in that story.

"I wanna hear!" Karen piped up, grinning as Jackson went into the story about the day they were all certified in trauma and how she had basically gone nuts and impressed Hunt.

"After that, she just stepped right up and took charge…she's so bossy in the trauma center, but she gets the work done and a lot of people, including me, respect her for it," Jackson chuckled at the end of his story.

Her whole family was taken with Jackson, which didn't surprise April at all. They all chatted around the table and he even surprised her father with his knowledge about vintage cars, which she hadn't even known that he knew about. Jackson was an impressive man and she knew that now more than ever.

"April, he's even more gorgeous in person," Alice gushed when the younger women in the family were alone in the kitchen cleaning up.

She smiled knowingly and rinsed another dish. "He is more than just a good looking guy though – he's smart, funny, and compassionate. And he likes when I babble…"

Kimmie and Alice exchanged looks. "Is he that good in bed?"

"Kimberly Anne!" April screeched, lowering her voice instantly as she glowered at her sister across the kitchen. "My sex life is none of your business."

"So innocent little April does have a sex life," Libby teased as she dried one of the plates, nudging April's side.

April reddened instantly. "Yes – but that is very private."

"Oh come on, we're sisters," Alice pleaded. "Give us some crumbs here, Apes."

There were times, like right now, that April cursed having three sisters. She loved them all dearly and knew that they meant well and only wanted to bond, but her sex life was something she felt very privately about even though all her co-workers were very blatant about who they were sleeping with and doing it all around the hospital. She and Jackson hadn't really ever done it much in the on-call rooms since they had started dating, but there were instances when emergencies arose and she needed him badly. But she knew her sisters wouldn't let it go until she gave them something.

"Okay…um, we are very…fond of showers together," she said, feeling the heat in her own face as it rose another few degrees in the room.

Her sisters all giggled and kept washing the dishes. Before now, April had never really been this open with her sisters, though she was the last of them to lose her virginity.

"At least you guys leave the bedroom," Libby lamented. "The last time I had sex anywhere else but the bedroom was my honeymoon…years ago."

That confession made April's face grow to a deeper shade of crimson as she tried to hide that. But her sisters missed nothing.

"Oh my…you and Jackson are the adventurous couple, aren't you?" Alice asked with a smirk across her face as she crossed her arms and looked at April.

She and Jackson were partial to shower sex, but had also christened the apartment…a few times over. And had made use of the on-call rooms at work a time or two…in the last month during their longer shifts when they weren't going to be home for over twelve or more hours. Then there was that time in the men's room at the boards…and in the limo at Lexie's wedding. Never in a million years did she believe she would be more adventurous about sex than any of her sisters, much less all of them, and here she was.

"Okay Apes, spill," Kimmie demanded with a grin. "Most public place you've ever had sex."

April was floundering, but luckily their mother walked in and saved her from having to answer that question…for now. Her sisters wouldn't forget this though and that was what she dreaded later on.

"April, honey, all the rooms in the house are taken with everyone arriving before you and Jackson," she explained. "I hope you and Jackson don't mind the guest house. Your father finished the bathroom in there last month, so it should be completely ready and comfortable."

"Mom, I thought Jackson was sharing with Josh," she said, confused.

"Oh that room is too small for two guys, so he's going to room alone for the weekend. You and Jackson are old enough sweetheart," her mother replied, smiling knowingly.

At literally every turn, her family surprised her more and more. After the kitchen was clean, everyone retreated to privacy as the little ones had to go to bed. She and Jackson left and went to the guest house across from the main house, bringing their stuff in.

"So my family…is a bit much sometimes," she said, biting her lip nervously as she waited for a reaction from her boyfriend.

"They are great, April," Jackson said. "A lot more like a family than mine. And they really do love you."

"They always worried I would wind up alone…that I would never…"

He cut her off with a passionate kiss that made her weak in the knees. There had only been a few times in their relationship that he had kissed her this hard, so it always took her by surprise when he did. Her arms instinctively wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer to her. Their tongues danced until she broke their kiss to breathe.

"What…what was that for?" she asked breathlessly.

"Just because," he said wit ha smile.

He really was the perfect man as she held him close and relished in the thought that he was all hers. For the first time, she was happy with her life and knew that she had her career, her man, and her dream. Everything had fallen into place, even if it took a little longer than she thought it would with her setbacks from failing her boards last year and then her delay in admitting her feelings for Jackson. Now she knew what she wanted and that she was going to go after it without hesitation.

As he moved to kiss her neck, she put her hand on his chest to stop him.

"Jackson…we can't," she said wistfully. "Not here…not this weekend."

He frowned. "We're in private…why not?"

"Because this is my parents' place and I just can't here…" she replied meekly, feeling guilty because she knew that she wanted to but just couldn't get around the fact that this was her parents' house and she wasn't married.

Jackson groaned and moved back from her, giving them both some space. She could tell that he was disappointed since they had been having sex so regularly. And she felt bad for him.

"It's just for two days," she offered hopefully. "Two days while we're here."

He nodded in defeat and grabbed his bag to change. April got hers and changed into her pajamas, slipping into the bed. Jackson joined her and she slipped into his arms. Turning her head, she kissed him deeply.

"That doesn't mean we can't fool around," she grinned, giving him a little more hope about the weekend.

"Am I allowed to feel you up while we make out?" he asked, looking at her with a childish grin.

"Oh most definitely," she replied with a wink.

They made out like horny teenagers for almost an hour, stopping now and then when things were getting too heated and heavy. By the time they went to sleep, April's lips were puffy and swollen and she was positive she had a hickey on her neck from where Jackson had moved down and started sucking on the skin there during their make out session. But they were content and she slept soundly, curled in his arms feeling safe and loved.

When morning came, April rose early and got ready. She wore a pair of her old blue jeans and a plaid shirt with a white t-shirt underneath, which was something she felt comfortable and familiar with having grown up on the farm. She braided her hair and found her boots before leaning over to kiss Jackson's lips to wake him up.

"Hey you…get up," she said with a grin. "We have plans."

"What plans?" he asked as he sat up in bed, rubbing his face with his hand. Jackson was not a morning person by any means, but it was so cute sometimes to see him so groggy.

"I'm gonna show you how I grew up," she said. "So chop chop…get dressed and ready to go. Wear something comfortable that you don't mind getting dirty."

Watching him dress, April smiled and grabbed her favorite bandana to wrap around her hair. Coming home reminded April of how simple her life had been as a child, but she appreciated it more after her chaotic life as a surgeon. It was nice to just slow down and appreciate the simple things in life, like growing up on a farm where you heard animals outside of your window every morning when you were waking up.

Once they were ready to go, April took him out to the barn where the horses were waiting. All of them were covered and whinnying to see her coming in the barn. Many of them she had raised since they were foals and she loved how they remembered her, even if it had been months since she last came home.

"Grab a brush from the wall," she told him, coming over to her favorite mare to take off her blanket, smiling as she brushed her hand over her face gently. "Hi Buttercup."

Jackson came over with the brushes. "These?" he asked, holding up two of the brushes from the wall.

"Those will work just fine," she replied, taking one and starting to gently stroke Buttercup's side as she pointed to the brown and white mare on her left. "You're going to take Beauty. She is Buttercup's sister and one of the sweetest horses we have."

"Are you sure?" he asked, looking at her. "I've never been around a horse before."

"You're going to do fine. Just don't walk behind her and you won't get kicked. And don't spook them," she said, smiling at her boyfriend while she showed him how to brush down the horse.

"These are yours?" he asked, brushing Beauty's side gently while looking over at April.

She nodded. "I've raised both of them since they were born. Buttercup here is fifteen and Beauty is younger by about a year. Their mother passed away when I was in medical school, so these are my girls."

They spent a little while brushing them down before April showed Jackson how to properly saddle the horse and mount it. He didn't look too bad on a horse, though she knew he'd never ridden one in his life by how he reacted when they started to go. She rose alongside him, making sure that Beauty stayed steady for him and that she didn't take off into the glen that was near their farm. For a while, they rose in silence, just looking at how beautiful the scenery was with the morning sun coming down and she remembered why she loved coming home and riding her horses again.

When they reached the lake, they tied the horses up and April started stripping down, smirking at Jackson as she ran toward the dock and jumped in the water in just her bra and panties. She came up and saw him looking at her, stunned.

"What?" she asked, brushing her hair back from her face as some had fallen out of the braid.

"You are one surprising woman," he said, pulling off his shirt and ditching his pants and shoes before joining her in the water in his boxers.

When he came up, she swam over to him and kissed him before splashing him playfully and swimming away.

"Hey!" he shouted, swimming after her. He caught up and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, making her squeal and laugh.

"Jackson!" she shouted, laughing as she did. He picked her up and dunked her in the water before she came up and splashed him again. "Ass!"

They laughed and came close together in the cooler water, his arms snaking around her waist as her arms went around his neck and they kissed. It was the first time she'd been here with any boy and she felt like she was suddenly sixteen and sneaking around from her parents, but in a good way. Making out with him in the water, she could feel that they were both beginning to get aroused and broke off the kiss before swimming back from Jackson. They laughed and kept on swimming for a while before the cold forced them out and into their clothes again.

Their ride back was pleasant as they reached the farm just about lunch time, letting the horses go into the pasture while they put up the saddles and reins. As they were coming out of the barn, she was attacked by a pair of little legs and arms.

"Auntie April!" a voice squealed as April looked down. Libby's oldest child, Sarah, was attached to her legs and giggling.

"Oh my goodness!" she said, feigning surprise. "Who do I have attached to me…a little leech?"

"I got you!" Sarah cried triumphantly as she looked up.

"No…I think I got you!"

April looked at Jackson and smiled as she reached down and tickled her niece. Sarah's shrill laughter made her smile as she thought about how much she loved her nieces and nephews. The downside to living in Seattle was not seeing them as often as she wanted, but she knew that she loved each one and kept up with all of them when she could.

"Papa said he wants to talk to Dr. Jackson," Sarah said as she came down from her fit of giggles before running off to play with her cousins and siblings.

Freezing for a moment, she looked at Jackson. She had no idea what this was going to be about…but she had a feeling it was a father to boyfriend talk…and that terrified her.

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**A/N: Mwhahahaha cliff hanger. What shall happen with Daddy Kepner talks to Jackson? _Review_ and you shall see!**


	18. She's My Little Girl

There were few times in Jackson's life that he felt more nervous than he did right now, including when he had taken his boards last year and his mother was the examiner in the room right next to his. But somehow, meeting April's father one-on-one was much, much scarier. Though he had been through his fair share of girlfriends, he had never really met their families or even got "the talk" from their fathers, so he had no idea what to expect when he came into the house. Joe Kepner was waiting for him at the kitchen table, alone, so there was no one there to intervene on his behalf.

"Jackson, please have a seat," the older man said, nodding to the chair across the table from him in the kitchen.

Jackson did as he was told and looked at his girlfriend's father, wondering what was about to transpire and if he would walk out of here alive or in a body bag.

"I've had this talk many, many times over with four daughters," Joe chuckled, taking a drink of his coffee before looking at Jackson. "But believe it or not, this is the first time I've done this for April, so this is kind of special."

That surprised him in a way. Surely there must have been some boy that April had brought home that he had spoken to beforehand. April was a beautiful woman and someone that he cared about very much, so he didn't get why other people didn't see what he did. He knew that there were times when she drove him crazy and did things that he didn't understand, but overall…she was the best thing that ever happened to him and he couldn't understand how people didn't see the wonderful things about her.

"Wow…I'm the first?" he asked, looking at Mr. Kepner.

Her father nodded. "April was always…more focused on her studies when she was young, which I encouraged and was proud of her for because I knew she was destined for great things. But I always wanted her to find someone that would respect her and love her for the woman she became."

"April is amazing," he said, smiling a little as he thought about all the little things about her that he loved, right down to moments when she just babbled because she was so caught up in what she was trying to say.

"Of all my daughters, she is the one I am most proud of…but don't tell my wife or the other girls I said that," Joe chuckled. "So you can understand my concern when she finally brings home a man for the first time. I just want to know that my daughter is with someone that loves her and will always love her the way that she deserves to be loved."

Jackson nodded in understanding, knowing that if he had a daughter that he would feel the same way. Though children weren't something that crossed his mind, he understood where Joe Kepner was coming from in regards to loving April. If he had never been the one that was with her, he would want to see her happy and with someone that respected and loved her because he was her best friend. But as it stood, he was the one with her and the man that loved her. Though they hadn't said it out loud yet, he knew what he felt and that he had never felt this way for anyone, even Lexie.

"Mr. Kepner, I love your daughter," he admitted, feeling like this admission was something he should make to his girlfriend's father. "April is my best friend and the first person I've ever been able to be me around. I didn't grow up in a family like this, but with April…I feel normal and happy. And I want to give her every happiness I can. Sometimes I don't know what I did to deserve her, but I feel lucky."

Joe Kepner smiled, seemingly satisfied with that answer and nodded. "You're a good man, Jackson Avery. April's been telling us about you for years, when you were just her friend, and I think that what you two have…it's the real deal."

He grinned, relieved for a moment. "Does this mean I have your blessing to keep dating your daughter?"

"Oh by all means, I approve," Joe chortled. "But I think it goes without saying…you break her heart, I own a shot gun and have plenty of land to hide the body."

The two men shared a laugh after a moment, knowing that he was both serious and joking at the same time. Jackson knew that he would never intentionally hurt April or do anything that would deserve a death warrant from her father. He loved her and only wanted what was best for her, which was why he knew that this relationship was the first one in his life that he had actually allowed his guard to be down. With Lexie, things had kept his guard up, like her history with Mark and the fact that he realized that she still had feelings for Mark sometime down the line. Ultimately, he had to walk away from that relationship for himself, but with April, he felt like he could let those guards down because she had been his best friend first.

His conversation with Joe continued on with the vintage cars that they had discussed the night before, picking up with Jackson's personal favorite, the Camaro. They talked about engines, racing, and which cars were the best suited for street driving versus racing them. Joe Kepner was an impressive man and Jackson felt himself becoming comfortable around the man who was his girlfriend's father.

"Dad?" April called from the doorway a while later. "You're not in here interrogating Jackson, are you?"

"Nah, that part's over," Joe teased, smiling at his daughter as April came in and hugged him. "We're just talking shop now. Jackson here thinks that Mustangs aren't the best for racing, so we're having a disagreement."

"Oh Dad…not the cars again," April whined with a laugh as she looked over at Jackson. "You two will be at this for hours if you keep it up. I'd get out now while you still can."

"I don't mind," Jackson grinned, knowing that it was nice to have someone to talk to about this stuff since most of his friends back in Seattle didn't know one thing about cars like he did. And he never had a father that was there for him growing up, so it was nice to share that with April's dad since he didn't have sons either.

"Alright you two, but wrap it up before dinner or Mom might smack the both of you," April warned teasingly as she left them to their conversation while she went out front to the porch.

Jackson talked with Joe for another forty-five minutes or so about cars, racing, and sports before he went out to the porch to sit with April. They had a lazy afternoon together as they walked around the farm and she showed him the other animals that she had raised as a child, including chickens, pigs, and all the dogs that wandered the farm pretty frequently. He was surprised how easy-going April seemed here, but she had been raised here and knew her way around better than he did. Yet it was still nice to see her relaxed and comfortable in her environment, the way she sometimes was during trauma and when she was focused during surgeries.

They had dinner with her family again before April was whisked away with her sisters again so Jackson was left with the guys. Jonathan, Mike, and Josh were all pretty laid back, so they were able to talk and get along pretty well. They talked baseball, basketball, and about life in Seattle versus the smaller towns that they lived in, except for Josh since he lived in a bigger town where he and Alice went to school. After a while, everyone retired for the night so he and April went back to the guest house.

"Your family is really nice," he told her as they were getting ready for bed. "A little big, but really cool."

April smiled. "Yeah…this is only a little piece of them too. My mom had two brothers and all of them have children and grandchildren. And my dad had one brother who has three kids and about five grandchildren already, so it gets even more crazy when we host Christmas at our house."

Jackson smiled a little, thinking back to how many Avery Christmases he had been to where everyone only ever talked about surgery. But in those stories, especially the ones from his grandfather, Jackson found his passion and his drive to become a surgeon to prove them all wrong about being just the 'pretty one' in the family.

"Must be nice though…to have so much family around even if they drive you nuts," he said, turning down the covers to sit on the bed. April joined him and looked over at him.

"I love them all dearly," she told him as she leaned over and kissed him once. "And I think they really like you."

"Your dad is a great guy…and he really cares about his daughters," Jackson said, looking at his girlfriend. "And he knows his cars. I can see this being a good friendship."

Crawling under the covers, April laughed and moved closer to Jackson, resting her head on his chest while they got comfortable. "Thank you…for coming out here with me to meet my family. That means a lot to me."

He kissed her head and rubbed her side. "I would do it all over again if you asked me."

They fell asleep, Jackson holding April in his arms. And for the first time in his life, he felt like he had something great. Meeting her parents really had solidified what he wanted in his mind and he knew that if he and April made it in the long run, her family would welcome him with open arms because they were the amazing kind of people he sometimes wished his own family could be. This trip to Ohio taught him a lot about his girlfriend as well, which was surprising to him since he thought he knew April pretty well. But he only knew the surface of the woman he was falling in love with. And he knew that he couldn't wait to get to know more of that woman as they were together.

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**A/N: Thank you all so much for the support you've given so far! Please continue to let me know what you think!**


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